About OCSA

Chair's Statement


I came to this sector as a participant. I won a car on Rev Comps a few years ago, and I know what that moment means to someone - the disbelief, the joy, the trust placed in an operator you've never met. I wanted that experience to be something people could rely on.

Later, I ran my own competition page alongside my IT support business. I know what it feels like to be on the other side - the cashflow pressure, the shoestring margins, and the morning my bank withdrew services without warning, threatening not just the competition page but the IT support business I'd built my livelihood on. The bank didn't distinguish between a prize draw operator and a gambling operation. Most banks still don't.

Those two experiences - as an entrant and as an operator - are why OCSA exists.

The UK prize-draw sector is at a genuine point of transition. The DCMS Voluntary Code of Good Practice signals that government expectations have changed. While the Code is currently non-statutory, it reflects a clear shift from informal tolerance to active scrutiny, with a defined period in which the sector is expected to demonstrate higher standards of transparency, fairness, and consumer protection.

OCSA was established in response to that moment. Our purpose is not to regulate, enforce, or replace existing authorities. It is to provide structure where there has been ambiguity, consistency where there has been divergence, and practical frameworks where expectations have been stated but not yet operationalised.

Voluntary standards only succeed when they are credible, observable, and applied in good faith. OCSA exists to help operators translate published expectations into workable practice - and to raise the sector floor in a way that is proportionate, realistic, and transparent.

This matters not only for consumer confidence, but for the long-term sustainability of the sector itself. A sector that can demonstrate maturity, shared standards, and independent assessment is a sector that earns trust - from consumers, from partners, and from government.

I've seen this sector from both sides. I built OCSA because I believe it deserves both.

Richard Jackson
Founder & Chair
Online Competition Standards Authority (OCSA)

April 2026

A middle-aged man in a gray suit and purple tie holding a clipboard and pen in an office.

The Online Competition Standards Authority (OCSA) is an independent standards body for UK prize-draw competitions.

Our purpose is to raise levels of fairness, transparency, and integrity across the sector by setting clear industry standards, offering voluntary certification to responsible operators, and supporting alignment with UK consumer protection and advertising requirements.

OCSA operates independently of government and regulators, and has been structured to complement existing law and policy while remaining aligned with the future direction of the sector.

OCSA exists to help operators transition from previously tolerated practices to modern, defensible standards — before that transition is forced upon them by legislation.

What OCSA Does

OCSA supports responsible online prize-draw operators that seek to operate openly and in accordance with:

  • UK consumer protection law

  • ASA advertising standards

  • The UK Government’s Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draws (2025)

  • The OCSA Code of Practice

We provide:

  • clear, published standards for prize-draw operators

  • voluntary certification for compliant businesses

  • guidance and education

  • transparency and disclosure expectations

  • consumer-facing accountability mechanisms

Scope and Regulatory Boundary

OCSA is not a gambling regulator.

We provide standards, guidance, and certification only for online prize-draw competitions.
OCSA does not regulate or oversee:

  • online gambling products

  • casino or slots websites

  • betting or sportsbooks

  • bingo sites

  • instant-win gambling products

  • National Lottery products

  • lotteries, raffles, or any activity requiring a gambling licence

Gambling regulation in the United Kingdom is carried out by the Gambling Commission.

If you have a concern relating to a gambling product or licensed operator, you should contact the Gambling Commission directly.

Prize-Draw Competitions and UK Law

Under UK law, prize-draw competitions fall outside the definition of gambling where winners are selected randomly and participants are offered a genuine free route of entry.

OCSA supports operators who structure and operate prize-draw competitions in accordance with this legal framework, applicable consumer law, advertising standards, and recognised voluntary codes of practice.