Verify a draw
A verified draw is a giveaway that anyone can check. The organiser locks the entry list before the draw, the winner comes from a public randomness round that nobody could know in advance, and this page lets you recompute the result yourself.
Check a draw yourself
Paste the entry list (one name per line, add | 2 after a name for a weight of 2), then the round number from the announcement. You get the list's fingerprint to compare with the announced one, and the winner.
How a verified draw works
- Lock the list. On any wheel, open Verified draw and lock the entries. The wheel shows a fingerprint of the list (a SHA-256 hash) and the number of a future round of the drand randomness beacon.
- Announce it. Post the fingerprint and the round where your audience can see it, before that round is published. Share the entry list too, so anyone can hash it and compare.
- Wait for the round. When the round is published, the wheel reads its value and works out the winner from the list and that value. The wheel then spins to the result and gives you a receipt link.
- Check it. Anyone can open the receipt, or paste the list and round on this page, and get the same winner.
Why this is harder to cheat than a recording
A screen recording of a spin shows what happened on one device. It cannot show that the organiser did not spin ten times and keep the best take. A verified draw has only one possible outcome once the list is locked and the round is known, so there is nothing to retake. If the organiser changes one name, the fingerprint changes. If they wait to see the round before announcing the list, the announcement comes too late and viewers can see that.
The weakest point is the announcement. Post it somewhere with a visible timestamp, or say it on a recorded stream. The receipt's own lock time comes from the organiser's device clock and should not be taken as proof.
A checklist for organisers
- Write your rules first: who can enter, the closing time, the prize and how you will contact the winner.
- Close entries, remove ineligible ones and duplicates, then lock the list.
- Choose a wait long enough to announce the draw, such as five minutes or an hour.
- Post the announcement and the entry list. Keep the page open until the draw.
- After the draw, share the receipt link next to the winner's name.
- Check the rules for giveaways and contests where you live. A verified draw shows fairness, it does not replace legal compliance.
Ready to run one? Open the wheel or try the YouTube comment picker, then choose the shield icon for a verified draw. Read more about how our ordinary spins are randomised.
Questions
What does a verified draw prove?
It proves that the winner is a fixed result of two things: the entry list and a round of public randomness. If the organiser announced the list fingerprint and the round before that round was published, nobody could have chosen or changed the winner after seeing the outcome.
What does it not prove?
It does not prove when the organiser announced the fingerprint. That depends on the announcement itself, such as a time-stamped post or a recording. It also does not check that everyone on the list is eligible.
Where does the randomness come from?
From drand, a public randomness beacon run by a group of independent organisations. It publishes a new value every three seconds that nobody can predict or alter. The value for any round can be read from several independent relays.
Do you store my entries or the receipt?
No. The receipt lives in the link itself, in the part after the # sign, which browsers never send to a server. Only the randomness service is contacted, and it receives a round number, not your names.
Can I check a draw without a receipt link?
Yes. Paste the entry list and the round number from the announcement into the form on this page. You get the list fingerprint to compare with the announced one, and the winner.