The World Cup 2026 Sweepstakes: the HR guide to keeping it legal, fair, and fun

The World Cup 2026 Sweepstakes: the HR guide to keeping it legal, fair, and fun in summary:

Can you run a World Cup sweepstake at work? Yes, but there are some important rules to follow. This guide explains how HR teams can organise workplace sweepstakes that are legal, fair and inclusive. It covers key considerations including UK gambling regulations, hybrid and remote working challenges, participation rules, prizes, workplace conduct and employee wellbeing. The article also shares practical tips to help employers create a fun World Cup experience that boosts morale while avoiding compliance and employee relations issues.

---

The World Cup starts on 11th June. Forty-eight teams, 104 matches, and at least one colleague who will spend the entire tournament explaining why their randomly drawn Uzbekistan is “actually a dark horse.” Office sweepstake season is upon us.

We know what you’re thinking: it’s just a bit of fun! Everyone chucks in a fiver, names go in a hat (or some fancy online draw machine), and the person who lands Brazil spends six weeks feeling quietly smug. Job done.

 

The problem is the Gambling Act 2005 has quite a lot to say about workplace sweepstakes – and with most UK businesses now running hybrid teams, the rules are genuinely harder to follow in 2026 than they were four years ago. Not a reason to cancel it. A reason to read this first.

First things first: is an office sweepstake even legal?

Short answer: yes – but only if you follow the rules. The Gambling Act 2005 includes a specific exemption for “work lotteries,” which means a properly run sweepstake is entirely above board. The catch is that most people organising them have never read what “properly run” actually means.

To qualify, your sweepstake needs to tick every one of these boxes:

• Everyone taking part works at the same physical location. Not the same company – the same premises.
• Tickets are sold in person, on-site, for cash. No PayPal, no bank transfers, no “I will get you back next week.”
• Every participant pays exactly the same amount to enter.
• Payment happens upfront – you cannot let people pay later.
• Tickets are non-transferable. If someone draws Uzbekistan and immediately wants to swap, the answer has to be no.
• The draw is genuinely random. No one gets to pick their own team.
• The organiser makes no profit whatsoever. All proceeds go to prizes or towards the reasonable costs of running the sweep.
• There must be a winner. You cannot roll the prize pot over to the next tournament.

A note on consequences: getting this wrong is not just an admin headache. Running an unlicensed lottery can technically be a criminal offence under the Gambling Act 2005 – with potential fines, and in serious cases, worse. If the business is seen to have encouraged or approved a non-compliant sweepstake, it can also be held liable. Worth knowing before you stick a sign-up sheet on the break room fridge.

The hybrid working spanner in the works

Here’s where things gets genuinely complicated.

The rules for workplace sweepstakes were written for a world where “everyone in the building” meant something straightforward – and they have not changed since. That single premises rule is now a real problem for modern UK businesses:

• Fully remote workers cannot legally join an in-office sweepstake. Not without using a licensed provider.
• If your company has two offices, you cannot run one sweepstake across both. Each location needs its own separate draw.
• Collecting entry fees via a WhatsApp payment link, a shared spreadsheet, or a Monzo request does not comply – even if everyone technically works at the same address.

If you want to include your remote colleagues – and there are good reasons to try – the cleanest option is to use a licensed external provider or look at a registered charity syndicate model. Take proper advice before going down either route. In the meantime, our earlier piece on keeping employees onside during major football tournaments has some compliant alternatives that often generate higher engagement than a traditional sweepstake anyway.

Keeping it fair: the equality side of things

Even if your sweepstake is legally sound, the Equality Act 2010 (which you can read up on here) still applies. Your obligations around fair treatment do not take a six-week break for a football tournament.

Do not assume who does and does not want to join

Now, not everyone is a football fan, and that is fine. But don’t assume people with less interest in the sport will not want to join in – plenty of employees are happy to spend five weeks invested in a nation they have never previously thought about. And don’t make assumptions based on gender, nationality, or any other protected characteristic. Everyone eligible should get the same opportunity.

Keep the entry fee accessible

Keep it low and make it clear that participation is optional. Some employees may be going through a difficult financial period, and even a small entry fee can feel uncomfortable. If someone wants to sit this one out, that is the end of it.

Set the tone before the tournament starts

Football banter has a habit of escalating. A brief, light-touch reminder of your conduct standards before kick-off – not a formal memo, just a heads-up that the usual rules apply to the group chat too – tends to go a long way.

This connects to a broader question worth thinking about: how do your day-to-day HR processes affect how people feel at work? Our blog on whether your HR processes might be damaging employee engagement is worth a read if you want to explore that further.

Your practical HR checklist

Here’s you actually need to do before the draw. Save it, print it, pin it up next to the hat full of team names.

Step	What to do
Check employment contracts	Some contracts include clauses prohibiting gambling at work – including sweepstakes. A quick scan first is always sensible.
Establish who is in scope	Only employees physically based at the same premises can legally join an unlicensed work lottery. Remote workers need a different approach.
Set a flat entry fee	Everyone pays the same. Typical amounts range from £1 to £5. Keep it accessible.
Cash only, collected in person	No digital payments. No promises to sort it later. Cash on the day, at the workplace.
Use physical tickets	No spreadsheets or digital entry forms. Physical tickets, drawn by hand.
Make the draw genuinely random	No team selection allowed. Names or teams drawn from a hat – classic, simple, lawful.
Non-transferable tickets	Once drawn, tickets stay with that person. No swaps, no gifting, no roll-overs.
All proceeds to prizes or costs	Zero profit for the organiser. Any surplus goes back to participants or to a charity.
There must be a winner	The prize pot is settled when the tournament ends. No carrying it forward.
Communicate the rules clearly	Tell participants how it works, where the money goes, and what conduct is expected.
Make it genuinely voluntary	No pressure on anyone to join. No awkwardness for those who opt out.

Your questions answered

Can our remote workers join the office sweepstake?

Under the standard work lottery exemption, no. The Gambling Act 2005 requires all participants to be physically working at the same premises. If you want to include remote colleagues – and it is worth trying – you will need to use a licensed external provider or explore a charity syndicate model. Take advice before committing to either.

Can we collect entry fees by bank transfer or PayPal?

No. Under the work lottery exemption, tickets must be sold in person and payment collected in cash at the workplace. Digital payment methods fall outside what the law allows here, full stop.

We have two offices – can they share one sweepstake?

No. Each location needs its own separate draw. Running a single unlicensed lottery across multiple sites breaches the single premises rule, even if it is all the same organisation.

One last thought…

We know this reads like a lot of rules for what is essentially a piece of fun. But a sweepstake that is properly set up, genuinely open to everyone, and clearly communicated is better for morale than one cobbled together in five minutes that leaves people confused or excluded.

The FIFA World Cup runs until 19th July – five weeks of shared investment in matches most of us would never normally watch. Done right, it is one of the cheapest ways to build a real moment of connection. Even the person who draws Uzbekistan will be quietly invested by week two (we speak from experience).

If managing the uptick in holiday requests and flexible working arrangements during the tournament is shaping up to be more of a headache than the sweepstake itself, our guide on striking the right balance with absence management is worth bookmarking. And, if you would like to explore how Cezanne’s HR software can help you manage engagement, absence, and team communications all in one place, just follow the link below.