Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

What is RandomPicker?

RandomPicker.com is a web-based application that allows users to conduct random drawings, typically for sweepstakes, contests, giveaways, or random selections. It provides tools to ensure transparency and fairness, often including public records of the draw. This makes it particularly useful for businesses, event organizers, and individuals who need verifiable randomization.

How does RandomPicker ensure fairness in draws?

RandomPicker uses multiple measures to detect suspicious activity and enhance trust in drawing projects. Here are some of them:

Project Lock: No changes are possible after the final drawing.
Public Record: Detailed online record for each draw.
Participation Check: Participants can verify their involvement.
Entry List: Anonymized list with duplicates and weights.
Log Records: All activities are logged.
Recent Drawings: Organizer’s recent draws and status are visible.
Deleted Data: Archived for auditing and detecting suspicious activity.
Additional Measures: Audited algorithms, internal ratings, and checkpoints.

Do I need to install any software to use RandomPicker?

No, you do not need to install any software to use RandomPicker.com. It is a web-based platform, so you can access and use it directly through your browser without any downloads or installations.

Can I install RandomPicker.com on my computer or mobile?

No, RandomPicker.com is a server-based service, so it cannot be installed on your computer or mobile device. You can access and use it directly through a web browser on any device with an internet connection.

How do I reset my RandomPicker account password?

To reset your password, go to the RandomPicker login page, click on the ‘Forgot password’ link, and enter the email address associated with your account. Check your email for the password reset link. If you don’t receive it, check your spam or junk folder. If the issue persists, please contact our helpdesk.

How do I manage multiple users on a single RandomPicker account?

RandomPicker does not currently offer a built-in feature for managing multiple users on a single account, as each account is typically tied to a single user. We are working on adding a user management feature very soon.

Drawing project

What is a drawing project and how do I create on on RandomPicker?

A RandomPicker project encompasses the entire setup and workflow for each drawing. It includes the basic mechanism, drawing type, prizes, entries, registration form, and more. The result of the project is the selection of winners and their prizes, and each project generates its own public record and other outputs.

What is the difference between GUID method and Thermal noise method, and which one is recommended?

The GUID and Thermal Noise methods both generate random values but differ in their processes. The GUID method combines time, machine information, and random elements to ensure uniqueness. The Thermal Noise method uses the random thermal motion of particles in a conductor to generate true randomness. While both methods are suitable for random winner drawing, the GUID method is significantly faster, making it the preferred option for your drawing projects.

Can I duplicate a project into a new one and exclude the previous winners?

Yes, you can duplicate a project in RandomPicker. When creating a new project, click the “Copy Project” button and select the source project. The system will ask what to duplicate—either just the project settings or both the settings and entries. You can also choose to exclude the winners of the source project. This feature is useful for managing multiple related drawings.

Can I delete a project?

Yes, but the ability to delete a project in RandomPicker depends on its status. If the project has not been finalized (no final drawing), it will be completely removed. For finalized projects, they are marked as deleted, making the data inaccessible in the application, but it is archived until the standard expiration date as part of anti-fraud measures.

Mechanisms

I want to choose one winner from my list

Yes, this mechanism is supported in RandomPicker. You add your entries, define one prize and RandomPicker selects one winner.

I want to choose multiple winners of the same prize

Yes, this mechanism is supported in RandomPicker. You add your entries, define the prize and its quantity and RandomPicker selects the winners.

I want to choose multiple winners of different prizes

Yes, this mechanism is supported in RandomPicker. You add your entries, define all prizes and requested number of winners for each prize and RandomPicker selects the winners and randomly assigns prizes to them.

Can winners choose their prize?

Yes, participants can choose their preferred prize if you use the “Preferred Prize” project type (project settings). This allows them to select their prize when submitting their entry via the registration form. Alternatively, if you’re not using the form, you can import each participant’s preferred prize directly through the import file. However, it is not possible for participants to choose their prize after the drawing has taken place.

Can people win several times in a drawing?

In standard drawings, a single entry cannot win more than once. However, if a participant has multiple entries in the list, they can win multiple times since the system treats each entry as a separate record. With the Preferred Prizes mechanism, participants can win multiple times if they have allocated their tickets across different prizes.

Can participants win only once in a drawing?

In a standard drawing, each participant can win only once, provided there are no duplicate entries in the participant list. If duplicates exist, each entry is treated as a separate record, allowing the participant to win multiple times.

Can I select a winner daily, weekly, or monthly using the same project?

No, once the final drawing is completed, it cannot be re-drawn to select a new winner. This is part of the system’s anti-fraud measures. However, you can easily duplicate the previous drawing into a new one. Several duplication options are available:

Copy only the project settings without participants.
Copy everything, including the entries.
Copy everything and exclude previous winners.

Is there a way to upload a list of email addresses or employee numbers that are eligible to enter a draw? We are wanting to use this program at our annual party, but only employees are able to enter, not spouses.

No, all people who submit an entry via registration form will appear in the list, and you’d need to remove any ineligible ones manually from the participant list. Or you could upload the list of all your employees in advance and not ask them to register during the event (this option isn’t suitable if you only need to select employees who are present at the event).

Prizes

What is the correct format for prize images?

RandomPicker supports JPG, PNG, and GIF images for prize images. A square format of 250x250px with a file size of up to 300KB is recommended. Uploading images in other formats may result in display issues.

I would like to select winners, but not allocate prizes, is this possible? For example, if there are 10 prizes I want to pull 10 names and contact them individually in order to see which prize they want.

We recommend using a general name for the prizes, such as “Prize” or “Prize Winner”. This approach would provide the flexibility – you have the winners, but the prizes are not assigned. Just make sure that the rules of your campaign allow this mechanism.

What if winners do not claim their prize or are not eligible to win? Is it possible to pick another winner if needed?

Once the draw is completed, no additional changes or re-draws are possible—this is one of our basic an anti-fraud measures. We recommend including backup winners in the main draw for the case when the prize is not claimed, or the winner is not eligible, so you can use the backup winner(s). You could also create a separate draw project, though it may raise questions among participants if there are multiple similar draws.

Add entries, import

How do I add entrants to my draw?

To add entrants to your draw in RandomPicker, you have several options:

Manual Entry: Add participants individually by typing their details directly into the system.
File Upload: Import a list of entrants using a CSV, Excel or a text file with the required fields.
Registration form: Use a form to collect participant details directly. You can also embed it into your website.
Auto-generated series: Participant 1, Participant 2, Participant 3, etc. You can define start number, step, prefix and suffix.
API Integration: Automate the entry process by connecting your system to RandomPicker through the API.

What is the correct import file format?

RandomPicker supports Excel (XLSX, XLS), CSV, and TXT (tab-delimited) files for importing entries. The file must follow the required structure:

Each entry must be in a separate row.
The first row (header) is ignored by default, but you can enable the first row, too.
Only one, two, or three columns are allowed:
- First Column: Entry name (e.g., name or ID).
- Second Column: Your internal notes (optional).
- Third Column: Weight (leave blank for equal chance of winning).
Excel files only import the first sheet. Ensure cell format is set to text for long numbers.
File size is limited to 5MB.

If the import fails, ensure your file meets the required format and conditions. Check for issues like extra columns or incorrect cell formatting. Refer to the template on the import page for guidance. If the issue persists, contact our support team and share the file so we can assist in identifying and resolving the problem. https://www.randompicker.com/support/entries-participants/

What information should be used as the entry name?

It should be unique. If you only use names, there is a high chance that multiple people with the same name will appear on your list. It’s also better not to use personal information for privacy reasons, as phone numbers, for example, would be publicly visible in the winners’ list (though there is an option to hide every second character in the public record). The best practice is to use anonymous unique IDs, such as customer IDs, receipt numbers, or transaction IDs.

Can I invite participants to a landing page to sign up to the drawing?

Yes, you can use our simple registration form feature to let participants register themselves. Each drawing project has its unique registration form link. The submitted entries are directly stored to your RandomPicker project. Learn more about the registration form here: https://www.randompicker.com/support/widget/

Can I collect payments or money, or sell tickets, or other products using RandomPicker?

RandomPicker does not currently support payment processing, so selling tickets through our platform is not possible. It is designed specifically as a tool to select winners from your list.

Can I re-import the details from registration form fields?

No, the manual import feature does not support registration form details, as these are specifically designed for form inputs. The import file supports only three columns: Column 1: Entry; Column 2: Your internal note; Column 3: Weight. One potential workaround if you need to preserve the form field content: you can concatenate the fields in Excel and move the combined data into the second column (internal note) of the import file. While this wouldn’t place the details in the same location, it would allow you to retain the additional information in RandomPicker for each entry.

Does the registration form include an option for skill-testing questions to qualify entrants for the drawing?

Currently, quiz questions are not supported. RandomPicker is primarily designed to select winners from a list of entrants, which can be imported manually, via a form, or through the API.

How does RandomPicker handle duplicate entries?

All entries included in a RandomPicker project are eligible for the drawing. Duplicate entries from the same participant increase their chances of winning, which may be acceptable for some mechanisms. However, if you want to avoid this, it’s important to review the list of entries before the final drawing. If duplicates are not allowed by your rules, you should de-duplicate the list. This can be done manually or by using the built-in de-duplication tool to detect and remove duplicate records.

In some campaigns, duplicate entries are allowed and even encouraged (more tickets = higher chance to win). In this case, RandomPicker offers two ways to handle duplicates:

Option 1: Treat each entry (ticket) as a separate row. If a participant has multiple entries, they can win several prizes in a single drawing because the system considers each entry as independent record.
Option 2: Weighted drawings. Instead of importing multiple duplicate entries for a participant, you can use a weight value to increase their chances of winning. You can upload only unique participants with their weights (number of entries). For example, a participant with a weight of 5 has five times the chance of winning compared to a participant with a base weight of 1. In this case, even if a participant’s weight is higher than one, they can win only once. You can learn more about weights here: https://www.randompicker.com/support/weights .

Test and final drawing

Can I run multiple draws simultaneously?

Yes, you can run multiple draws simultaneously with RandomPicker. The platform allows you to create and manage multiple drawing projects at the same time. Each project operates independently, so you can have different contests, raffles, or giveaways running concurrently – for example, you might have a social media giveaway, an employee raffle, and a customer loyalty drawing all active at once.

Can I test the drawing process before conducting the final draw?

Yes, you can test the drawing process before conducting the final draw. RandomPicker allows you to run multiple test draws before the final drawing. This feature helps you familiarize yourself with the system and how it works; show your audience how the drawing process will work; ensure the results are consistently random; practice using either the quick randomizer or the live event module. You can run as many test draws as needed. These test runs won’t affect your final drawing, and once you’re comfortable with the process, you can proceed with the official final draw. After the final drawing is complete, the project locks to prevent any additional changes, ensuring complete transparency.

What is the difference between the quick drawing and the live event drawing?

The difference between quick drawing and live event drawing relates to your audience and presentation needs. Quick Drawing is designed for when you need to select winners efficiently without an audience watching (imports entries and generate winners immediately). It saves time when nobody is watching the drawing process and is ideal for backend drawings where you just need the results. Live Event Drawing is designed for when you have an audience (in-person or virtual) and want to present the winners. It includes visual presentation elements and is perfect for live streams, events, or situations where people are watching the drawing happen in real-time. Both methods use the same random selection algorithms and generate the same public records for transparency – the only difference is the presentation style.

How do I cancel a draw project before it starts?

If you need to cancel a live drawing before conducting the final draw, you can use the Cancel button in the live event module. This button is only visible to organizers (not participants) and remains available until you start the final drawing. When you click Cancel the drawing process stops, but your project remains intact. All your settings and entries are preserved. You can then choose to make changes to the project (modify entries, prizes, or settings), run another test draw and restart the drawing when you’re ready. Once the final drawing has been started and completed, the project locks and cannot be cancelled or modified to ensure transparency and fairness.

How do I verify the results of a draw?

RandomPicker provides multiple ways to verify the results of your draw and ensure complete transparency. You can check the Public Record, which is automatically generated for every drawing and includes all key details — such as the date, time, method used, number of entries (and their weights), prize information, and winners. The Public Record is a unique URL that anyone can access to view the results. It also includes an Entry Search, allowing participants to verify that their entry was included in the draw using the search function on the page. You can also view an anonymized Entry List, which displays all entries (with only the first and last letters visible), including any duplicates and applied weights. Most organizers share the Public Record URL on their website, social media, or in email campaigns so participants can independently confirm that the drawing was conducted fairly.

Can I customize the terms and conditions for my draw?

Yes, you can fully customize the terms and conditions for your drawing project. In the Project Settings, you’ll find a dedicated field where you can add your own terms and conditions that are specific to your contest, raffle, or giveaway. Your custom terms and conditions will appear on the Public Record – ensuring transparency and that all participants can review the rules even after the drawing. The Registration Form also has its own customizable text option, allowing you to display relevant terms or instructions to participants when they enter. This customization feature is available on all RandomPicker plans, including the free plan, giving you full control over the legal terms and rules governing your drawing regardless of which tier you’re using.

How do I notify winners or non-winners after a draw?

After your drawing is complete, you’ll need to contact the winners manually. RandomPicker provides you with the complete winner list, which you can export by going to Results > Download winners. This download includes the winner information (such as email addresses or contact details you collected) making it easy to reach out to them.
Currently, RandomPicker doesn’t automatically send winner notifications, so you’ll need to download the winner list from Results section and contact winners using your preferred method (email, phone, social media, etc.). You can also share the Public Record URL so winners can verify the results. Many organizers also publicly announce winners on their website or social media channels along with the link to the Public Record for transparency. This manual approach gives you full control over how and when you contact your winners, and what message you send them.

Is there a limit to the number of entrants per draw?

Yes, entry limits depend on your plan. The free plan allows up to 100 entries per project, which is suitable for personal non-profit use and testing purposes.
If you need to run drawings with more than 100 entries, you’ll need to upgrade to one of our paid plans. Each paid tier offers different entry limits to accommodate various needs – from small business contests to large-scale promotional campaigns. You can view all available plans and their specific entry limits on our Pricing page to find the option that best fits your requirements.

How do I handle ties in a RandomPicker draw?

Ties do not occur in RandomPicker drawings. The system uses random number generation to select winners one by one from the pool of entries. Each winner is definitively selected by the randomization process. Even in weighted drawings where multiple participants may have the same weight/number of entries, the system still randomly selects individual winners without the possibility of a tie. The drawing process ensures each prize is awarded to exactly one winner as defined in your project settings.
If you have multiple prizes of the same type (for example, 10 identical gift cards), RandomPicker will randomly select 10 distinct winners – not create any ties or require tiebreakers.

Can I schedule draws to occur at a specific time?

Currently, RandomPicker does not support automated scheduling of draws. Organizers need to manually start the drawing process when they’re ready to select winners.
You have full control over the exact timing of your draw, you can ensure everything is properly set up before conducting the final drawing, for live events, you can start the drawing when your audience is ready and watching and you can run test draws right up until the moment you’re ready for the final drawing.

What happens if my internet connection is lost during a draw?

If you’ve already started the final drawing: the drawing continues and completes on RandomPicker’s server, winners are selected and assigned to prizes as normal and results are saved and the Public Record is generated. For live events, you might miss the visual presentation/animation, but this is just the display – the actual results are already completed and stored on the server. Once you reconnect, you can access the complete results and Public Record. If connection is lost before starting the final drawing, the drawing simply waits for you to return, nothing is lost – all your entries and settings remain intact. When you reconnect, you can start the drawing process from where you left off. This server-side processing ensures that technical issues on your end never compromise the integrity or completion of your drawing. Whether using quick drawing or live event mode, once you click to start the final draw, the results will be generated regardless of your connection status.

Pricing

What are the pricing plans for RandomPicker?

Is there a free version of RandomPicker available?

How do I upgrade my RandomPicker plan?

Do you have an option to purchase a one-time payment for a drawing with the live event feature?

Do you have an option to purchase a one-time payment for a drawing with the registration form feature?

Is the Registration form feature included in the one-time credit or the Basic plan?

Is the Live Event feature included in the one-time credit or the Basic plan?

Can I try the Live Event feature before purchasing the plan?

Can I try the Registration form feature before purchasing the plan?

Can I try the customization feature before purchasing the plan?

Can I integrate RandomPicker with my website or social media?

What is the process for requesting a refund on RandomPicker?

Weights

What is the best way to draw winner from participants that have various numbers of tickets?

Use RandomPicker’s Weighted Drawing method. Instead of entering the same person multiple times, add each participant once with their ticket count as the weight. For example, if John bought 5 tickets and Sarah bought 10, enter John with weight 5 and Sarah with weight 10.
The system automatically calculates proportional chances – Sarah will have twice the probability of winning as John. This method is perfect for charity raffles, loyalty programs, or any drawing where participants can earn multiple entries. All weights are visible on the Public Record for transparency.

I cannot change the weight for my entries, what do I do wrong?

Check your project settings for the drawing method. If “All entries have same chance of winning” is selected, all entries automatically have a weight of 1 and cannot be changed (this setting exists to meet legal requirements in some countries). To enable different weights for entries, go to your project settings and switch to “Entries can have different chance of winning”. Once you make this change, you’ll be able to assign different weights to each entry for your weighted drawing.

How to add weights to entries

First, ensure “Entries can have different chance of winning” is selected in your project settings. Then you can add weights in two ways: 1) Manual entry: Enter weights directly in the list of entries – there’s a weight field for each entry you can edit. 2) Excel/CSV upload: Include weights in the third column of your import file. Weights must be whole numbers (no decimals), and there’s a maximum weight limit based on your pricing plan. You can edit weights anytime before the final drawing by going to your entries list.

Privacy and data protection

For the personal information collected and used by the platform, is it used for any other purpose, combined with any other information, and disclosed to any other third-party?

We don’t share, sell, or disclose any collected data.

Where are your server located?

Our servers are physically located in the EU: Prague/CZ, Dublin/IRL, Frankfurt/DE.