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What Is a Skill-Based Competition?
You’ll often see competitions described as "skill-based" — and that label isn’t just marketing. In UK law it’s what determines whether something is a legal competition or a lottery. Here’s what it means.
The legal test
A competition is skill-based when winning depends on skill, judgment or knowledge rather than pure chance. The law looks for a skill element significant enough to deter a notable proportion of people from entering, or to eliminate a notable proportion of those who do enter. Meet that, and it’s a prize competition, not a lottery.
Common examples
The classic is spot the ball, where you judge where a ball should be in a photo and a panel decides the "correct" spot. Tie-breaker or quiz questions are another route, requiring an answer that filters entrants on knowledge or judgment.
Why it matters
Because the skill element keeps these competitions outside lottery licensing, they don’t need to offer a free entry route — unlike random prize draws. See how BOTB works, whether prize competitions are legal and the free entry route.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a competition ‘skill-based’?
Winning depends on skill, judgment or knowledge rather than pure chance — for example spot the ball or a tie-breaker question.
Why don’t skill competitions need a free entry route?
Because the skill element keeps them outside lottery law, so the free-route requirement doesn’t apply.
Is spot the ball a skill competition?
Yes — it’s judged on how close your guess is to a panel’s decision, which is treated as a skill.
Related guides: how BOTB works, whether prize competitions are legal and the free entry route.