Sweepstake generator.

How to run an office sweepstake.

Collect the names, paste in the field, draw once with everyone watching, print the sheet. That is the whole job and it takes about five minutes, whether it is the Grand National at Aintree or a World Cup.

1. Collect the names. Ask in the team chat or leave a sheet by the kettle. Close entries before the draw, because nobody gets added afterwards.
2. Get the field. The Grand National field is capped at 34 runners and is confirmed in the days before the race, so paste it in once it is declared. A World Cup field is fixed once qualifying ends. Until then you can draw on numbers alone.
3. Draw. One click, on the big screen with everyone watching. No redraws because someone dislikes their horse or their team. That is how a sweepstake loses the room.
4. Print and pin. Print the A4 sheet for the kitchen wall, or copy the list as text and drop it in the group chat.

Formats that work.

Most sweepstakes come in one of three shapes. The generator handles all of them, and which one you get depends on how many runners and how many people you have.

• One each. As many people as runners or teams. Everyone draws one.
• More people than runners. The extra names go on a reserve list, in the order they came out of the draw.
• More runners than people. Some people hold two. The draw is dealt evenly, so nobody holds a second runner until everyone holds a first.

Decide the prizes before the draw and write them on the sheet. Most offices reward the first three home, or the winner and runner-up of a tournament, and plenty add a prize for last place. Whatever you pick, tell everyone up front.

What happens with non-runners.

A non-runner is a horse withdrawn before the race. Agree the rule before the draw, because the holder will have a view afterwards. Three rules organisers use:

• Draw late. Wait for the declared field, close to the race, and there is less to go wrong.
• No replacement. Simple and clear. The holder sits the race out.
• Reserve steps in. If a runner joins the field after the draw, the first name on the reserve list takes it. The sheet lists reserves in draw order, so nobody argues about who is next.

Money, and what this tool does not do.

Fanzava handles no money. This is a draw and nothing more. Whether money changes hands in your sweepstake is up to the organiser and the rules where you are. In Great Britain, the Gambling Commission explains the rules for an office sweepstake in its guide to running a lottery with people you work with. Everything you type stays in your browser.

World Cup, Rugby World Cup and any other event.

Same tool, different field. Pick the event above, paste the runners or teams, add the names and draw. It suits a World Cup sweepstake, a Rugby World Cup sweepstake, a Euros draw, or an office sweepstake for anything with a list of runners. There is more on how those formats run in our football sweepstake guide.

How the draw works.

The draw uses your browser’s cryptographic random number generator (crypto.getRandomValues) with a Fisher-Yates shuffle, so every arrangement is equally likely. Draw again and you get a completely different result, so draw once and stick to it.

Sweepstake questions.

How does an office sweepstake work?

Every runner or team goes on one list and every entrant on another. A random draw pairs them so each entrant holds a horse or a team. When the race is run or the tournament is won, prizes go to the holders of the places agreed before the draw. This generator does the pairing fairly and gives you a sheet to print.

What if a horse is withdrawn?

Agree the rule before the draw. The simplest is no replacement, so the holder sits the race out. If you have reserves, you can give the first reserve any runner that joins the field after the draw. The reserve list on your sheet is in draw order, so there is no argument about who is next. Drawing once the field is declared, closer to the race, leaves fewer surprises.

How do I print it?

Draw first, then press Print sheet. The page prints as a clean A4 portrait sheet with the field, who drew what, any reserves, a blank column to write the result in and a space for your logo. Copy as text is there if you would rather paste the list into a group chat.

Is my list private?

Yes. The draw runs in your browser. The names and runners you type are never uploaded or sent anywhere, and closing the tab clears them.