Online sweepstake websites have come a long way from the small noticeboards that they used to be.
They now represent a large number of sites available today that make it easier than ever to enter free competitions and draws.
In this CompetitionsGuide.com.au, we will look at one of the many sites dedicated to helping you win free stuff. We will explain how the website operates and how you can use it easily.
How Does Competitions Guide Work?
Competitions Guide works in much the same way as any other free online sweepstakes site. The team behind the site work tirelessly to find all the greatest free draws available online. They then post all these draws in one place for you to view.
To use the site, you will need to register a user account. This is a simple process and will require you to provide your name, email address, gender, date of birth, and Australian territory.
Once you have registered, you will need to click on the link in your confirmation email to verify your account and begin using the site. This email arrives almost immediately, so you won’t have to sit around waiting for it.
After you are logged in, you can begin browsing the site for any sweep that catches your eye. This is made easy by the many prize categories that sort the draws into what you are looking for.
If you find a draw that you want to enter, all you need to do is click on its title to enter. If you prefer to first find out more about a draw, you can do so easily. Just click on the orange I visible icon in the bottom-left corner of the box the draw appears in.
Clicking the draw heading will redirect you to the official website of the brand or company hosting the draw. Here, you can follow the on-screen prompts to enter.
One important thing to mention is that the site has different membership options. As a standard member who registers with free registration, you will only have access to 12 new competitions each month.
In contrast, premium members have access to over 300 competitions each month and more than 10 new competitions each day. We will discuss premium memberships in more detail later in this review.
Is CompetitionsGuide.com.au Legit or a Scam?
Aside from the fact that the website has been running since around 2005, it has been mentioned by countless Australian media outlets and featured on a few television shows.
This, alongside the fact that the site doesn’t require any payment to enter the draws listed, makes us believe that Competitions Guide is entirely trustworthy.
The only thing that you may have to worry about is receiving spam emails. This is, unfortunately, always a concern whenever you register an account with a site like this.
The site states that you will receive daily emails with the latest draws. Thankfully, you can unsubscribe from these if they become too troublesome.
User Experience
In terms of how the website operates, there is not much that we can complain about. This is good news considering that most sites like this generally have something that will annoy you.
While the design is not the most modern, it is pleasing to the eye. It uses clear boundary lines for posts alongside high-quality graphics. All the text is also easy to read, so your eyes won’t get tired looking at the site while browsing.
Navigation is handled by two top navigation menus. The very top menu includes general links like the About Us and FAQ. The second top menu consists of the various available prize categories.
The site looks decent enough on mobile devices, and you should still easily manage to look for draws while away from your PC. This makes up for the lack of any app for Android or iOS.
One of the best things, however, is the lack of advertising on the site. While there are some adverts on the right of the home page, these are all internal ads that link to different parts of the site.
Considering most of these types of sites usually overwhelm us with a savage onslaught of ads, this is extremely refreshing.
Lotteries Available
CompetitionsGuide.com.au doesn’t allow you to play in any lotteries. Instead, the site only posts free sweepstakes and draws.
As mentioned, these are filtered into different prize categories that make it easier for you to find a draw that you are interested in.
The available prize categories offered are:
Cars
Caravans
Aussie Trips
Cash
Electronics
Outdoor
Vouchers
Appliances
Overseas Trips
Cruises
Homes
Home Improvement
Food and Drink
Competitions Guide Extras
There are a generous number of additional site features available. However, access to almost all of these are limited to members who have a premium membership.
To become a premium member, you will need to complete your standard registration following the aforementioned process. Then, after logging in, you can click the Go Premium link to upgrade your membership.
Being a premium member will cost you $3.30 per month. This is billed as an annual amount of $39.60.
Becoming a premium member will gain you access to the following benefits:
Competitions eBook: All premium members will have free access to download the e-book written by the Competitions Guide founder, Craig Seitam. The book is said to hold all the secrets of winning competitions and usually retails on Amazon for $29.95.
Notes: This feature allows you to write private notes about each draw that you see. These notes will be linked to the draw that you write them about, and you can see them at any time. This is a good way to keep track of anything you want to keep in mind about a certain draw.
Entry Logging: The entry-logging feature will keep track of all draws that you have already entered. As the draws will be marked with a green tick mark, this is a great way to keep track of which sweeps you’ve already entered.
Favourites: By clicking the yellow star on each draw listing, you can add that post to your favourites. This allows you to place all your best sweeps in one place so that you can view them again easily.
Red Cross: In contrast to the favourites feature, this feature allows you to mark draws you are not interested in. These posts will appear with a red x to show that you have already seen them and were uninterested in entering them.
If you are a standard member, there is only one real additional extra available to you. This is view tracking on the draw listings.
This feature is enabled automatically and will mark any draw you have previously looked at with a purple eye icon. This helps you keep track of which draws you have already seen.
Payment/Withdrawal Options
Unlike most free sweeps sites, CompetitionsGuide.com.au has payment methods available. These are used to make a payment if you decide to register as a premium member. Accepted methods are Visa, MasterCard, and PayPal.
There are no withdrawal options.
How to Claim Your Winnings
Because each sweep listed on the website is hosted by a different company or brand, there is no set process to follow when claiming your prize. Instead, each draw has its own claims process.
This process is listed in the rules for each draw. It is best to familiarise yourself with the process for a particular draw before entering.
Sadly, Competitions Guide doesn’t make the rules for each draw available with the sweep listing. Therefore, you will need to look for the rules for the draw on the entry website.
Customer Support
If you have any questions about the site, the FAQ section does a decent job of answering most queries that you may have.
There are times where you may still have unanswered questions about how the website operates. If this is the case, you can send a query using the provided online form. There is also a support email address (info@competitionsguide.com.au).
Rules and Regulations
There are no limitations listed on who can register a user account. However, considering that all the draws and sweepstakes listed are focused on the Australian market, it is assumed that the site is meant for Australia residents only.
Each draw has its own restrictions on who can enter. These rules are stated in the rules for each draw.
CompetitionsGuide.com.au Review Conclusion
CompetitionsGuide.com.au is a really decent free online sweepstakes website. In fact, it is one of the better ones that we have come across.
It has many extra features available to premium members and a good site layout and usability. As such, you will easily be able to enter many free draws using Competitions Guide.
However, there is one thing that we can complain about. This is that so many of the great features, including almost all the draws, are limited to premium members.
But considering that the site has no ads, we understand that membership is how the website makes money to keep operating.
So, if you are in Australia and are looking for a great place to see all the latest free draws happening around you, we recommend registering today.
