Few people expected Brian and Wendy Wilshaw to be as successful as they have turned out to be. After a strong marketing campaign in the British media and online, the couple have just managed the impressive feat of selling all 46,000 tickets for their Devon property prize competition, nearly two months before their targeted completion date.

As we reported a few weeks ago, the couple intended to give away their family home (perfect for fishing enthusiasts) worth an estimated £1 million ($2 million) and called Oldborough Retreat for £25 per ticket (around $50).

The competition, which was supposed to run until 7 December, has now closed. All players that took part will now be biting their nails in anticipation of the prize draw, which is scheduled in mid-October.

In total, the Wilshaw couple successfully raised £1.15 million through their competition, suggesting this might offer an alternative to selling your home in the normal way.

It will be interesting to see how the costs of running this kind of campaign compare to the fees one would have to pay to estate agents, but it could turn out to be a more competitive option if enough tickets are sold.

This is likely to have attracted the attention of other homeowners unable to sell their properties, which might lead to copycat 'Win a House' competitions in the UK. In fact, we have already started seeing new competitions announced on the internet and in newspapers in recent weeks, some of which also intend to donate funds charity in the process.

Given the intense media coverage, it is not suprising that the UK's Gambling Commission has started paying attention to this competition, as have a number of experts in this sector. Interestingly, according to Out-Law.com, there seems to have been some confusion regarding the lawfulness of this type of competition in the UK. Apparently, the confusion lies in the definition of what type of competition can be called a prize competition, and what is simply a lottery or random draw.

It seems that running a lottery for profit (unless you are a charity for example) could be deemed illegal. We are not experts in this topic, but it could raise some interesting questions for the resolution of the Oldborough Retreat competition in the coming weeks. The crux of the question seems to lie with the definition of skill, and whether sufficient levels of judgement was required from players entering the competition. We understand that free lotteries are not subject to the same constraints.

For those thinking of organising similar 'win a house' competitions, and we suspect there might be a few these days, the 'Win a Devon Property with Fishing' competition could 'clear the way' for many others if it closes successfully. However, should the Gambling Commission intervene ahead of the prize draw, this could present an obstacle for some promoters that have used a very similar structure in determining how players enter their competition.

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That was quick!

Wow, pretty unexpected. There's been a few of these over the last few years but I think most of them ended not selling all their tickets.

Dave , 24 Jan 2009

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Re: Win a Devon Property with Fishing house competition closes two months early

@ Dave

Yes you're right, this was perhaps one of the best examples so far of how to run a successful marketing campaign for a house competition, with lots of coverage both online and offline, including on the TV and radio.

Unfortunately, since then the couple has not been able to pick a winner due to ongoing discussions with the Gambling Commission. I do hope they are able to resolve things soon, as much for their own sake as for the players themselves.

Team Win House , 12 Feb 2009

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