Skill > Chance
Here’s a small hint: it’s in the name.
Yup, you guessed it! Skill-based competitions are competitions that are based on skill. That’s why they aren’t considered gambling, because they’re not based on chance.
Your players don’t have to count their lucky stars – just their brain cells.
Participants won’t need to rely on chance; they’ll just need to put their thinking caps on and use their skills. The winner is chosen based on their abilities and the specific criteria you’ve set for the competition.
Here’s how it works: players purchase tickets and then tackle the question or task you’ve designed to challenge their skill, knowledge, judgment, or logic.
Examples of Skill-Based Competitions
Just a quick refresher: skill-based competitions require showing off a skill.
Entrants can do this in various ways. Here is how you can challenge them:
1. Test their knowledge by asking them a question. Task them to answer a hard question in 30 words or less (herein lies the fun challenge!), and judge their answer based on your defined criteria
2. Ask them to submit a photo which, again, must meet your requirements. Narrow down what they should be taking a picture of. Nature, bikes, cars, or — heck! — even themselves. Promote that self-luuurve
3. Anyone say ‘trivia night’? Ask your entrants trivia questions and award your prize to the person who’s obtained the most correct answers. Easy-peasy, and still fun!
Define Your Criteria
You gotta judge their skill somehow, right? It’s your competition, your rules. There are certain requirements that you define:
- Who can enter. That is, the eligibility criteria, like their age (which should always be 18+)
- How to enter, or the entry process — do they like/share/follow you on social media, or simply buy a ticket?
- What the prize is. That’s the main motivator for boosting your entries!
- How the winner will be chosen, which depends on the type of skill-based competition you choose, and announced, like on Facebook Live
- Important dates, so, when to enter by, when the judging process begins, and when the winners are announced
- How personal information is handled
- Your rights to use submissions
- Any disclaimers
Legality Above All
Not to worry, skill-based competitions are completely legal. They fall outside of the Gambling Act (2005) as they’re not classified as a lottery.
It’s all based on skill, not chance.
Just to clarify, a competition isn’t a lottery if it either:
- Satisfies ‘the skill test’, or
- The entry doesn’t require payment
For it to pass the skill test, the skill required to enter should either:
- Dissuade a considerable number of potential participants from entering, or
- Prevent a substantial number of entrants from receiving a prize
As such, if you’re holding a trivia competition, don’t ask easy questions like: ‘What’s the capital of the United Kingdom?’ That’s not really testing people’s skills. Most people can answer that easily, meaning it wouldn’t pass the skill test.
Aim for something harder! Make winning the prize really worth it.
The Real Prize Is the Benefits
There are more benefits to hosting skill-based comps than just the legality of it.
Let’s name a few:
- Games of skill can be cost-effective, as you save money on permits and prize draws. You also don’t need to advertise your winners (but you can if you want to!)
- Skill-based comps are creative and challenging, offering your customers a unique and fun way to engage with your brand
- Entrant’s responses can be used to promote your brand. For instance, you can use a photograph submitted for entry in an advertising campaign
- Because entrants want to show their skills off as best they can, the entries tend to be of higher quality
More Skills Coming Your Way
Are you curious to learn more about skill-based comps? Perhaps you’re looking to host one yourself?
Either way, you’ve come to the right place! We’re online competition experts. That means we’ll take your comps from a 1 to an 11. Contact us today.
