Win a House competitions have evolved considerably since Dunstan Lowe gave away Melling Manor in a pay to enter prize draw. We’ve seen everything from a Tiny House through to family homes and massive mansions offered up as prizes. Individuals jumped on the bandwagon with mixed success by using the Raffall platform whilst dedicated sites like Raffique and Froghopping came and went. Things turned on their head with the arrival of Omaze who guaranteed that the million pound properties they were offering would always be given away. To date they’ve created 15 winners and thanks to their subscription model look to be running new draws every couple of months. However Omaze don’t have the UK win a house space all to themselves. Tramway Path have been very successful in creating house winners whilst Raffle House are also in the mix. However whilst the idea of winning a house sounds great on paper, not everyone wants to move to the headliner location. Indeed in a recent Daily Mail article they revealed that just 3 of 15 Omaze UK winners are still in their prize property. The rest have sold up, are selling up or have rented them out and using the cash to improve their lifestyle in a location of their choice. If people don’t want to stay in big money houses that they’ve won then is it time to pivot on the win a house prize format?
Cash For House Competitions
The guys at Tramway Path up until recently offered their entrants the chance to win a fixed property prize. However in their last two prize draws they’ve offered cash to buy a property. The first initially started off as any property, up to £450,000, within the London area but after complaints they changed it to anywhere in The UK. Listening to their audience is something Tramway are good at and they followed up with a £500,000 to buy any property in The UK giveaway. Offering cash in a win a house competition isn’t new by the way. The pay to enter prize draw sites like McKinney and Bounty often offer their winners the chance to win either a property or a cash alternative. However it’s not something you often see at dedicated property platforms like Omaze. Now the Omaze model is something Raffle House has adopted. Their last two prize draws have been for properties in Brighton and London that have been valued at £2million or more. Cash alternatives have been offered and from what we understand are usually always preferred by the winners. However for their most recent draw they’ve decided to do away with a property altogether. The prize on offer is £2million cash and the winner can use this as they please. It could be for a million pound property, to renovate a current home, purchase a new home and holiday home, set up a rental portfolio or something else. The choice is yours (well provided you win).
Why Cash Is King
According to The Daily Mail the winners of Omaze’s house prize draws have said that the “properties are too lavish, too expensive to upkeep and they are miles from jobs and family”. We’ve highlighted issues on our various reviews. Having a property with multiple huge windows, large gardens, swimming pools etc require upkeep and maintenance. Now Omaze do offer a cash sum as part of their prize packages so that helps, but it can only go so far especially if you’ve moved home, stopped working etc. and have no other income. Owning a multi-million pound home is a wonderful dream but you also want to enjoy living there and not worry about paying bills or if you can afford to be there. We suspect that a more modest property and no money worries for life would be a lot more appealing to most people, especially if you can choose where that property is. For example a few of the Omaze prizes have been really desirable from a personal point of view. But I love living in Wales and wouldn’t want to move! £2million could not only mean a decent property here, but potentially a holiday home as well – and cash in the bank to make life really comfortable. Raffle House have been incredibly canny with their decision to offer cash. Firstly it’s a more flexible prize than that offered by Omaze and secondly it’s bigger prize that has been offered by Tramway Path. Now all that they’ve got to do is convince those entrants who are loyal to other brands to take a look.
Does Cash Attract UKGC Interest?
So far The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) haven’t shown much interest in win a house competitions. In fact they’ve shown little interest in pay to enter prize draw sites too. However will big money cash prizes start to make them sit up and take note? Tramway Path recently offering £500,000 to buy a property (and are expected to do the same again soon), Raffle House offering £2million cash and McKinney Competitions giving entrants the chance to win a villa in Portugal or £1million are not minor prizes. They are prizes that are inline with The National Lottery and Pools both of which fall under UKGC rules. When big big money ends up on the table we think regulation, transparency and responsible gambling need to be the order of the day. Perhaps it’s not so bad for prize draws like Omaze, Tramway and Raffle House who offer tickets from £5/£10. However tickets for McKinney’s villa draw cost £99.95 each or nearly £700 for 10. Someone spending £700 on a bingo, casino, slots or sportsbook site would (should) be flagged up and checked. Will The UKGC do anything? We suspect not because they’re too busy with traditional online gambling to even be concerned about this growing sector. Meanwhile multiple pay to enter prize draw sites keep mushrooming up without any checks or regulation. Let us know your views below. What would you spend £2million on? Do you enter these kind of prize draws? Do you think they should be better regulated?