Editorial Policy
This policy explains how Winning UK researches, writes, reviews, updates and corrects competition listings and guides. It applies to public competition pages, editorial articles, category introductions and recurring roundups.
Our purpose
Winning UK exists to help visitors make an informed decision before entering a competition. A useful page should do more than repeat a prize headline and send somebody elsewhere. It should identify the organiser, explain the entry route and highlight the conditions most likely to affect participation.
Source standards
Primary sources are preferred. These include an organiser’s entry page, published terms, official social account, retailer promotion page, broadcaster page, charity website or downloadable rules supplied by the promoter. Where a primary page hides information inside an entry form, we state what could and could not be confirmed.
Third-party directories can help identify a possible promotion, but they are not treated as final evidence. We do not knowingly copy another directory’s description or use it as the sole basis for publishing a new competition.
Checks before publication
Before a competition is treated as complete, the editorial review looks for:
- A clearly identifiable promoter.
- An official entry URL and a public terms source where available.
- A specific prize description, including material exclusions.
- A closing date.
- The entry method and any published free route.
- Residency, age and other important eligibility rules.
- The winner-selection and notification method.
- A suitable category and an image that does not misrepresent the prize.
When a material fact cannot be verified, the listing should remain in draft, be clearly qualified or be removed from public view. Internal research notes and instructions must never appear as visitor-facing facts.
Writing and additional value
Listing copy is written for Winning UK rather than copied from the promoter. We summarise the parts of the terms that help a visitor decide whether and how to enter, including travel obligations, claim windows, postal deadlines and costs not included in the headline prize.
Guides should answer a practical question completely, distinguish facts from general suggestions and link to authoritative guidance when discussing law, advertising rules, tax, fraud or responsible participation. We avoid unsupported claims about winning odds and do not add words solely to make an article appear longer.
Images and intellectual property
Competition images should illustrate the prize without implying ownership of an organiser’s campaign artwork. Winning UK may use original commissioned or generated editorial artwork. We avoid copying protected promotional graphics, logos or photographs without a suitable right to use them.
Use of automated tools
Automated and AI-assisted tools may support research organisation, drafting, quality checks or the creation of original editorial artwork. They do not replace source checking. Material facts should be traced to a public source and content must pass editorial review before it is relied upon as complete. If reliable information cannot be found, the correct action is to keep the page unpublished rather than ask a tool to fill the gap.
Commercial relationships
Advertising, sponsorship and featured placement help support the site. Commercial involvement does not remove the need for accurate terms, a real promoter and a working entry route. Paid placement should be labelled, and advertisers do not receive a right to suppress legitimate safety information or corrections.
Updates, expiry and archiving
Competitions can close early, change prize details or remove their terms. Current listings may be rechecked when a problem is reported or during routine maintenance. Expired competitions are excluded from current browsing and search indexing. Thin, obsolete or unverifiable records may be returned to draft rather than maintained as public archive pages.
Corrections
We welcome evidence-based corrections. Send the Winning UK URL, the disputed detail and an official supporting source through the contact page. We may amend the summary, add an important qualification, update the source or withdraw the page. Genuine promoter, rights-holder and privacy requests are reviewed on their merits.
Review responsibility
Content is published and reviewed by the Winning UK editorial team. The latest WordPress modification date records when a page was last materially updated. Visitors should still read the organiser’s current terms immediately before entering because the promoter remains the final authority for its competition.