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Sweepstakes Picker — Pick a Random Winner Fairly

Select a sweepstakes winner from your entrants list using cryptographic randomness. Visual, recordable, and transparent — the right way to run a sweepstakes drawing.

Free • No signup • No purchase necessary to use

Preparing wheel...

How to Pick a Sweepstakes Winner

1

Collect eligible entrants

Export or compile all eligible entries. Remove ineligible entrants before the draw.

2

Paste the list

Copy your entrants list and paste it into the wheel. One name or entry per line.

3

Set winners count

Set 1st, 2nd, 3rd place if needed. Each winner is picked without replacement.

4

Spin and record

Screen-record the spin for your records. The video documents the random selection.

Sweepstakes vs. Raffle vs. Contest — What's the Difference?

Type How winner is chosen Purchase required? US legal status
Sweepstakes Random chance No (AMOE required) Legal in all 50 states
Raffle Random chance Yes (ticket purchase) Regulated — varies by state
Contest Skill or judging No Legal in all 50 states

Under US law, a sweepstakes must have a free alternative method of entry (AMOE) if a purchase is involved. The "chance" element is what our tool provides — a genuinely random, cryptographically secure selection from your eligible entrants list.

Who Uses a Sweepstakes Picker?

Brand Promotions and Marketing

Brands run sweepstakes on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and email lists to grow their audience. A visual wheel draw can be posted as a Reel or Story to show followers the pick was fair.

E-commerce Product Giveaways

Shopify and WooCommerce stores run sweepstakes to reward customers. Add order numbers or customer names and spin to pick the winner publicly.

Newsletter and Email List Giveaways

Grow your email list with a sweepstakes. Export subscribers as a CSV, paste names into the wheel, spin to pick the winner.

YouTube and Twitch Subscriber Sweepstakes

Creators run subscriber sweepstakes as milestone celebrations. Add subscriber names or channel member names, spin on stream, post the result.

Social Media Contests

Comment, like, and follow giveaways on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Paste comment usernames, filter by required tags, spin to select.

Local Business Promotions

Restaurants, gyms, and retail stores run in-person or online sweepstakes. Collect entry forms, add to the wheel, draw in-store or on social media.

Why Cryptographic Randomness Matters for Sweepstakes

The FTC requires that sweepstakes winners be selected by "chance." Most free wheel tools use Math.random() — a pseudorandom algorithm seeded by the system clock. It's statistically uniform but technically deterministic.

Real Wheel Picker uses crypto.getRandomValues() — the Web Crypto API, which pulls entropy from hardware sources in the CPU. This is the same cryptographic standard used in TLS certificates, secure password generation, and cryptographic key generation. The selection is genuinely unpredictable and not reproducible.

For brands running official sweepstakes with legal disclosures, this provides a stronger technical basis for the "chance" element of the promotion.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a sweepstakes picker?

A sweepstakes picker is a tool that randomly selects a winner from a list of entrants. It is used by brands, marketers, and contest organizers to pick sweepstakes winners in a way that is fair, transparent, and legally defensible.

How do I pick a random sweepstakes winner?

Paste your list of eligible entrants — one name per line — into the wheel. Click Spin. The wheel randomly lands on a winner using cryptographic randomness. Screen-record the spin to document the selection process for your records.

Can I filter out duplicate entries?

Yes. The tool automatically removes duplicate names by default. This ensures one entry per person, which is required by most sweepstakes rules.

Is this tool legally compliant for US sweepstakes?

The tool provides cryptographically random selection, which satisfies the 'chance' requirement for sweepstakes. However, legal compliance also depends on your sweepstakes rules, eligibility requirements, and state-specific regulations. We recommend consulting the official FTC sweepstakes guidelines for US promotions.

Can I pick multiple winners for tiered prizes?

Yes. Set the number of winners to 1st, 2nd, 3rd place, etc. Each winner is selected without replacement — no one wins twice.

How is this different from using a random number generator?

A spinning wheel is visual and recordable. You can screen-record the spin with all entrant names visible and share the video as transparent proof of your drawing. Random number generators produce a number with no visible connection to your entrants list.

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