How to run a transparent random drawing
A wheel makes a selection easy to watch. A fair process depends on the rules and entry list you prepare before opening it.
This checklist is for a small, low-stakes community giveaway where the organizer has already decided who can enter and what the prize is. It is not legal advice and it does not turn a browser wheel into an independently audited lottery system. Check the rules that apply where you and your entrants are located before running a promotion.
1. Publish the rules before collecting entries
Write down the opening and closing times, who may enter, how many entries each person gets, what the prize is, how the winner will be contacted, and what happens if the first person is ineligible or does not respond. Keep the language plain. If an entry requires a public comment, tell people exactly what they must do and when the entry period ends.
Decide duplicate handling before you see the final list. For example: “One entry per person; repeated submissions are reduced to the first valid entry received.” Do not quietly change that rule after the draw. If the prize, eligibility, or selection method changes, update the announcement before closing entries and give entrants a clear way to withdraw.
2. Freeze and check the entry list
- Close entries at the published time and stop accepting late submissions.
- Remove entries that fail the rules you already published. Record the reason without sharing unnecessary personal details.
- Apply the stated duplicate rule. Count the remaining entries and keep a copy of the final list for your records.
- Replace emails, phone numbers, addresses, or account IDs with entry numbers or public handles before projecting or screen-sharing the list.
- Put one equal-sized segment on the wheel for each eligible entry. Check the count and labels with a second person if the draw matters to your community.
For 12 eligible entries, label the wheel 01 through 12. Keep the private mapping to entrants offline, show the count of 12 on screen, and use the same mapping to contact the selected person afterward. The audience can see that each entry received one segment without seeing anyone’s private contact information.
3. Show the selection without editing the result
Share the setup and spin live or make a continuous recording that shows the prepared entry count, the wheel, and the result. Avoid cuts between the spin and the selected entry. Do not re-spin because you dislike the winner. If the published rules allow a replacement—for example, the winner is ineligible—explain the exact rule and preserve the first result in your notes before selecting again.
Afterward, record the date, the final number of entries, the result, and whether the winner responded. Post only the information needed to show that the process finished. Ask before naming someone publicly if your rules did not already explain how winner names will be announced.
What the wheel can and cannot prove
Spinly selects a result in the browser. Its current code uses the browser’s Web Crypto random values when available and rejects out-of-range values to avoid a modulo-remainder bias; a general-purpose Math.random() fallback is used when Web Crypto is unavailable. This describes the implementation; it is not an independent audit of the browser, the entry list, or the organizer’s process.
A screen recording can make a small drawing easier to follow, but it cannot prove that the entry list was complete, that the page code was unmodified, or that a promotion meets legal requirements. For a high-value prize, regulated contest, employment decision, or any situation requiring a verifiable audit trail, use a process designed and approved for that purpose instead of relying on a free browser wheel.
Before you spin: make the rules visible, freeze the list, protect private details, check one entry per eligible person, and decide in advance whether a replacement draw is allowed.