Giveaway Wheel Checklist and Limitations

WheelOSpin can display a casual random choice from a list. It is not an identity system, ticketing platform, legal rules engine, or independently audited raffle service. The organizer remains responsible for eligibility, disclosures, privacy, record keeping, and any law that applies to the promotion.

Decide whether this tool fits the draw

Use WheelOSpin only when a visible browser-based selection is appropriate and the organizer can manually verify the list. Do not use it when rules require:

• a licensed or certified drawing system;
• age, residence, purchase, or identity verification;
• a tamper-evident audit trail;
• a reproducible public seed;
• secure handling of sensitive participant information;
• independent supervision or a formal witness.

Obtain qualified advice for a regulated promotion. Calling an activity a giveaway, raffle, sweepstakes, or contest can have different legal consequences in different places.

Prepare the entries

Create the eligibility rule before collecting entries. Use a unique public-safe label for each eligible entry. Full email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, or account credentials should not appear on the wheel.

After importing:

1. remove headers and blank rows;
2. check the total against the source list;
3. resolve accidental duplicates;
4. distinguish legitimate multiple entries with unique ticket labels;
5. remove ineligible or withdrawn entries;
6. save the source list according to the published rules.

Two identical labels on an equal wheel are two chances. That may be correct for a two-ticket entrant or incorrect for a duplicated spreadsheet row. The wheel cannot tell the difference.

Equal versus weighted entries

Keep weighted mode off when every row is one equal entry. If the rules allow different entry counts, the clearest setup is often one unique ticket row per entry because the audience can count them.

Weighted mode can represent the same proportions with fewer rows, but the organizer must disclose the weights and preserve the underlying entry record. A participant should be able to understand why one label has weight 5 and another has weight 1.

Never change weights after the selection begins unless the published rules require a documented correction and the draw is restarted transparently.

Run the draw

Before spinning, show the final entry count and state whether winners will be removed. For multiple unique winners, turn on Remove winner so a selected row leaves the active list.

Close unrelated tabs and notifications before screen sharing. Do not expose the source spreadsheet or a share URL containing private labels. The result history is stored in the browser and is helpful for the current session, but it is not signed, server-verified, or tamper-evident.

If the browser closes or a technical failure occurs, follow a restart rule announced before the draw. Re-spinning only because the organizer dislikes a valid result destroys the value of the process.

Verify the selected entrant

A wheel result identifies a row, not a person. Check the winning label against the source record and apply the eligibility rules. If a winner is ineligible, document the reason and use the replacement procedure from the published rules.

Do not display private verification details to the audience. Contact the potential winner through the channel defined in the rules.

Preserve an appropriate record

For a casual activity, a written note of the final list version, time, settings, and result may be enough. A downloaded image shows the wheel but does not prove how the list was prepared or that the code was unchanged.

If the value or legal risk requires a stronger record, WheelOSpin is the wrong tool. Use a service designed to authenticate entries, lock the draw configuration, and produce an independent audit record.