What is a bucket raffle?

A bucket raffle is a drawing where several prizes are available and participants decide which ones to enter. Instead of one big pool with a single winner, every prize gets its own “bucket” of tickets and its own separate drawing.

Participants buy or receive a set of tickets, then put them wherever they like. They can put every ticket on the one prize they really want, spread them across several prizes, or aim at the less popular items where the odds are better. The choice is theirs.

The format goes by different names depending on where you are:

• Bucket raffle — the general term
• Tricky tray — common in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania
• Basket raffle — usually when the prizes are gift baskets
• Chinese auction — an older term that’s still around but being phased out
• Penny social — an older term from when tickets cost a penny

The mechanics are identical in every case: participants choose where their tickets go, and each prize is drawn on its own.

The reason it works is engagement. When people have a say in what they’re competing for, they pay closer attention. Rather than hoping to win something, they’re going after prizes they actually want.

How bucket raffles work online

Traditional bucket raffles run in person — tickets dropped into jars or boxes sitting next to each prize. Online, the idea is the same; it just happens digitally and without the manual counting. Here’s the flow in RandomPicker.

1. The organizer sets up the prizes
You create a drawing with multiple prizes, and each one can have its own quantity — say three gift cards, one TV, and five spa packages.

2. Participants receive tickets
Each person gets a ticket allocation. That can be equal for everyone (ten tickets each, for example) or based on criteria you set, such as years of service, donation amount, or purchase value.

3. Participants allocate their tickets
Everyone sees the prize list and distributes their tickets across it. One person might put five on the TV, three on a gift card, and two on the spa package. Another might put all ten on the TV because that’s the only thing they want.

4. The drawings run
Each prize draws from its own pool. The TV drawing only pulls from tickets placed on the TV; the gift card drawing only pulls from gift card tickets. No bucket affects another.

5. Winners are announced with verification. Every drawing produces a public record, so participants can confirm their tickets were counted in the right buckets.

The advantage over the in-person version is the work it saves: no ticket counting, no manual draws, automatic verification, and it works just as well for remote participants as for a room full of people.

Use cases for bucket raffles

Company events and employee recognition. A common request: employees receive a varying number of entries based on their years of service and allocate those tickets to the prizes of their choice. It fits holiday parties, quarterly celebrations, and milestone events, and tenure-based allocation rewards loyalty while still giving everyone a shot.

Fundraiser galas and charity events. This is the classic tricky tray. Display the prizes, sell ticket sheets, and let attendees walk around choosing which buckets to enter. It works in person, hybrid, or fully online.

School and PTA fundraisers. Parents buy tickets and place them on donated prizes: restaurant gift cards, experiences, gift baskets. Because each prize is drawn separately, you get multiple winners and the excitement keeps building through the evening.

Trade shows and conferences. Hand attendees tickets at registration and let them allocate to sponsor prizes over the course of the event. It keeps people moving between booths and staying engaged.

Virtual team events. Remote teams join a shared raffle, allocate tickets to prizes that can ship anywhere, and take part across time zones — no physical setup needed.

Customer appreciation campaigns. Customers earn tickets through purchases and put them toward the prizes they want. Engagement runs higher than a standard “enter to win” because people are aiming at a target they picked.

The pattern is consistent: bucket raffles work best whenever you have several prizes and want participants involved in the selection rather than passively entering and waiting.

Setting up a bucket raffle in RandomPicker

In RandomPicker, bucket raffles run through the Preferred prizes module — the feature that lets each participant choose which prizes to enter and allocate tickets to them. Here’s how to set one up.

1. Create your prize list: Add each prize with a name and description, the quantity available (three winners for this one, say), and an optional image.

2. Set ticket allocations: Decide how participants get their tickets — typically an equal number for everyone.

3. Open allocation: Open a form where see the prize list, and distribute their tickets across prizes until they’ve used their full allocation. Or, you can import allocations from an external source, if you already collected the entries.

4. Run the drawing: Once allocation closes, run the draw. Each prize pulls from its own pool, and every result is verifiable.

5. Announce and verify: Share the results with links to the public records. Participants can confirm their tickets were sitting in the right buckets.

Bucket raffle vs. standard raffle

Feature	Standard raffle	Bucket raffle
Prizes	One or a few	Multiple
Entry	Everyone in the same pool	Participants choose which prizes to enter
Engagement	Passive – buy and wait	Active – allocate strategically
Winner experience	Win or lose	Multiple chances, aim at preferred prizes
Setup	Simple	Moderate

A standard raffle is the right call when you have prizes and want a simple entry process, no need participants to choose. Reach for a bucket raffle when you’ve got multiple prizes of varying appeal, want people actively involved, are running a fundraiser or event where excitement should build through the night, or know your participants have different priorities.

Tips for successful bucket raffles

Mix up prize values.
Include some high-value items that draw lots of tickets, some mid-range options, and a few smaller prizes where the odds are better. The spread keeps everyone engaged and produces more winners.

Show the prizes clearly.
Online or in person, people need to see what they’re entering for. Good photos and descriptions do real work here.

Pick a sensible ticket count.
Too few tickets and there’s no real choice to make; too many and people get decision fatigue. Somewhere around 10 to 25 tickets per person suits most events.

Time the drawings for impact.
At in-person events, spreading the draws across the evening keeps the energy up. Online, announce a set drawing time so people tune in for it.

Lead with verification.
Because participants are choosing where their tickets go, they care that those tickets counted. Put the verification links somewhere visible.

Do a test run.
If it’s your first online bucket raffle, run a practice round with staff or volunteers to fix anything confusing before the real event.

Frequently asked questions

What if someone doesn’t use all their tickets? You have two options – only allocated tickets go into the drawings, unused tickets don’t count. Or you can set the second option – the system can put the missing tickets into random buckets for each participant.

Can the same person win more than one prize? Yes, if they entered several buckets and were drawn from each.

Can I run this for remote participants? Yes. People allocate their tickets online from anywhere, the drawing happens centrally, and results are shared digitally.

Is this legal for fundraisers? Raffle laws vary by location, and bucket raffles follow the same rules as standard raffles, so check your local requirements. RandomPicker handles the drawing mechanics; compliance stays with the organizer.

How is it different from a silent auction? A silent auction involves bidding money. A bucket raffle involves placing pre-purchased tickets for a chance to win. The barrier is lower, it’s more luck-based, and it often raises more from smaller donors.

Run your bucket raffle with verification

Bucket raffles come with a trust problem built in: participants allocate their tickets carefully, then have to trust that those tickets ended up in the right buckets and that each draw was fair.

RandomPicker answers that with a public verification record for every prize drawing. It confirms tickets were allocated correctly, shows the draw was random, timestamps everything, and lets participants check their own entries. For fundraisers especially, that transparency builds the kind of credibility that brings people back for the next event.