How sports clubs are using prize draws + predictions + 50/50s together (not separately)

Most clubs treat fundraising mechanics as either/or decisions. Shall we do a raffle this year, or a lottery? A 50/50, or a predictions game? The clubs raising the most in 2026 stopped choosing. They run prize draws, predictions and 50/50s together — as layers of one calendar, not competing campaigns.

Why the three mechanics stack instead of clash

Each mechanic has a different natural rhythm, which is exactly why they don't cannibalise each other.

Prize draws are seasonal. Two to four big moments a year — Christmas, end of season, a summer holiday draw — with a headline prize that reaches beyond your core support. They're your acquisition engine: the mechanic most likely to pull in people who've never given to the club before.

Predictions are weekly. A score-predictor or results game rides the fixture list. Small stakes, high frequency, built-in banter. Predictions keep supporters engaged between the big moments — and engaged supporters are the ones who say yes to everything else.

50/50s are matchday. The simplest mechanic in fundraising: after the platform fee the pot splits 50/50 between the winner and the club, drawn at the game. It converts matchday footfall — people already at the ground with their phone in hand — into regular income. Our guide to 50/50 maths shows how it adds up over a season.

The compounding effect

Run one mechanic and you reach one audience on one rhythm. Run all three and the same supporter meets the club at three different moments: the weekly predictions habit, the matchday 50/50 impulse, the seasonal draw event. Three mechanics give the same supporter base more moments to take part, so together they can raise more across a season than the best single mechanic alone. The lift isn't from asking harder; it's from asking at more of the right moments.

A simple combined calendar

August: season launch — predictions league opens. Every home game: 50/50, drawn at half-time. November: Christmas prize draw launches, four-week campaign. March: spring draw or end-of-season draw with a club-themed prize. May: predictions league finale, winners announced at presentation night. That's year-round income from three mechanics and one platform — without exhausting your volunteers or your supporters.

One platform or three?

The catch: run these on three separate tools and you triple the admin and lose the crossover — nobody can see the 50/50 buyer who should be invited to the draw. Running them on one platform, with one supporter database and compliance built in, is what makes the stack work. That's the model behind £1M+ raised for 2,500+ organisations on Play Fund Win.

Ready to layer your calendar? Start fundraising with Play Fund Win — all three mechanics, one platform, nothing up front.