How do I set up a prize wheel and keep the game fair?

What is a prize wheel?

A prize wheel (also called a spin-to-win or chocolate wheel) is a wheel divided into segments, with a pointer that clicks over pegs until it stops on one. The segment it stops on decides the prize. People usually earn a spin by registering, sampling or buying a product, then spin the wheel themselves.

Our prize wheels come in three styles: floor-standing (800mm or 1000mm wheel, 1.5m high), counter-top (420mm wheel on a round steel base) and off-the-shelf (610mm wheel with write-on segments).

Why does a fair game matter?

A spin is decided by chance, and the rules for chance-based promotions vary from state to state. A wheel that isn't truly random, or a prize that runs out with no plan, invites disputes in front of a crowd. Getting the set-up, the odds and the rules right before the doors open avoids all of that.

Use the following steps to set up a prize wheel

1. Pick the spot. Put the wheel at the front edge of your space, where passing traffic sees it first, with the prizes on show and room for the queue to watch each spin. Agree the queue space with the organiser or centre beforehand.

2. Assemble the wheel. The off-the-shelf wheel arrives flat-packed and takes about 5 minutes to put together the first time. If you have the collapsible floor-standing style, which breaks into several pieces for transport, fit the pieces back together. A counter-top wheel sits on a table, counter or one of our portable plinths.

3. Check the pegs, pointer and graphics. Make sure nothing has worked loose or been damaged in transit.

4. Test it before you go live. Spin it repeatedly and check it stops cleanly on every segment.

IMPORTANT: Never weight the wheel. A wheel that isn't truly random invites disputes.

5. Set the prizes and the odds. On a wheel with equal segments, each segment has the same chance. The odds for a prize are the number of segments it gets divided by the total. Our off-the-shelf wheel has 14 segments, so one hero-prize segment on it is a 1 in 14 chance. On that wheel, hand-draw the prizes onto the segments with a whiteboard marker.

Note: Odds are averages, and a wheel can land on the hero prize twice in a row. Stock more than the expected number of each prize, and state in your rules what happens if a prize runs out.

6. Display the rules. Check the trade promotion rules with the regulator in each state where the promotion runs or where entrants live. Our spin-to-win prize wheel guide lists what several state regulators say.

In NSW, for example, the NSW Government's trade promotions page says you must clearly advertise the rules of the trade promotion, or state where the rules can be found, and that an authority is required if the total prize value for a single trade promotion exceeds $10,000. If you need one, send the rules to NSW Fair Trading at least 10 working days before the promotion starts. It also says advertising must not suggest that winning will be a definite outcome of taking part. Other states and territories set their own rules and thresholds.

IMPORTANT: Your promotions or legal team owns the terms and conditions. Have them check lines such as "every spin wins" before they go on show.

7. Run the queue. Have one person host and run the spin, and a second person capture details, check proof of purchase and hand over prizes. Capture first, spin second, and allow one spin per person per visit, applied every time. Keep one of each prize on the prize board and the rest out of reach.

8. Finally, at pack-down, check the pegs, pointer and graphics again. If you have our optional carry case, pack the wheel into it so the wheel and its parts stay together, and you're done!