RevComps vs BOTB: Which UK Instant-Win Site Suits You? (2026)

Two names keep coming up whenever UK competition fans argue about where to spend a tenner on instant-win plays: RevComps and BOTB. Both run spot-the-ball and instant-win style games, both chase a car-mad audience, and both have loyal followings who will defend their pick in any comments section. We put them side by side on the things that actually matter when you are deciding where your money goes.

This is not a verdict that one site is universally better. It is a breakdown of how each one actually works, what it costs to play, how transparent the odds are, and who each format genuinely suits, so you can make your own call with your eyes open.

What is the actual difference between RevComps and BOTB?

RevComps runs instant-win reveal games with fixed ticket numbers and a published prize list, while BOTB is built around its long-running spot-the-ball mechanic layered on top of instant wins. RevComps tickets are typically bought in blocks for a specific competition, each numbered ticket representing an entry into that draw, with an instant-win layer that reveals a result the moment you buy. BOTB has built its entire brand identity around the skill-and-judgement spot-the-ball format, where you place a cross on a photo to guess where the ball was before it was removed, alongside its own instant-win games.

The practical effect is that RevComps feels closer to a straightforward raffle with an instant bonus bolted on, while BOTB wants you to engage with its puzzle mechanic as the headline feature. Neither is inherently more or less legitimate than the other; they are simply different products built around different hooks. If you prefer to know your result the second you pay, RevComps' instant-reveal structure gets you there faster. If you like the idea of a tie-break skill element, BOTB's approach is the more established version of that format in the UK market.

How do the instant-win mechanics actually work on each site?

RevComps reveals your result immediately after purchase through a scratch-style or number-reveal screen, while BOTB splits its offering between instant-win games and its flagship spot-the-ball competitions that run to a published closing date. On RevComps, when you buy into an instant-win competition, the ticket number you are assigned corresponds to a prize table that was fixed before the competition opened. You find out there and then whether your number matches a prize tier, from small cash amounts up to the headline item.

BOTB's instant-win games work on a similar fixed-prize-table principle for the pure instant-win titles, but its spot-the-ball game is different in character. You are shown a photograph with the ball removed and asked to place a cross where you believe it was. The site compares entries against a panel's pre-determined 'correct' spot, and the closest entries go through to a tie-break if there are multiple matches. That is not an instant result in the same sense; it is closer to a skill-based draw with a defined closing window.

What matters here is reading the individual competition page on either site before you commit, because the rules, overall odds and prize tiers are disclosed per competition rather than being identical across the whole site. A tenner on one RevComps instant-win game and a tenner on a BOTB spot-the-ball entry are not directly comparable products, even though both sites sell them under the umbrella of 'instant win'.

Is RevComps legit and properly licensed?

RevComps operates under the free prize draw model that lets UK competition sites avoid gambling licensing, provided a genuinely free postal entry route exists alongside paid entry. This is the same legal structure that almost every UK skill-and-prize-draw competition site uses, including the biggest names in the space. It means RevComps is not regulated by the Gambling Commission in the way a betting site would be, because the Gambling Act 2005 exempts prize competitions that include a free entry route and, where a skill element is used, that genuinely tests the entrant.

Checking legitimacy on a site like this comes down to a few practical things rather than taking a licence badge at face value. We look for a clearly published free postal entry method that is not buried or made deliberately awkward, a terms and conditions page that states the total number of tickets available and the odds that implies, proof of past winners being named and paid, and a UK company registration you can look up on Companies House. RevComps publishes winner information and its terms, which is the baseline we expect from any site we would recommend.

If you are weighing up the free postal entry option itself, it is worth reading our breakdown of how free postal entry routes work across UK prize draw sites before you assume paid entry is your only option anywhere, including here.

Is BOTB legit and how long has it been running?

BOTB is one of the longest-established names in the UK spot-the-ball and competition space, operating under the same free-entry prize competition exemption as RevComps. Longevity is not proof of anything on its own, but a site that has been running competitions and paying out winners for years, with a public track record that journalists and competition forums have scrutinised repeatedly, gives you more to check against than a brand-new entrant with no history.

BOTB publishes its own terms per competition, including total ticket numbers sold where relevant and the tie-break process for its spot-the-ball game. Because the spot-the-ball format involves a judgement call on 'how close' an entry is to the panel's chosen spot, the mechanism for breaking ties matters more here than on a simple numbered instant-win ticket, so read that section of the terms specifically rather than skimming it.

As with RevComps, we would not call BOTB risk-free just because it is established; we would call it a site where there is more public history to verify. Check Companies House for the registered entity, look at how recently winners have been announced, and read a handful of the terms pages for current competitions before deciding it is right for you.

How much does it cost to play on RevComps versus BOTB?

Ticket prices on both sites vary enormously by competition, typically running from well under a pound per entry on bulk instant-win games up to several pounds for entry into a car or cash jackpot draw. Neither site has a single fixed price point, because the cost per ticket is set by the operator for each individual competition based on the prize fund and total tickets available.

What we do instead of quoting a single number is look at the per-ticket price relative to the prize pool and total ticket count disclosed in the terms for that specific competition, because that ratio is what tells you whether a £2 ticket is better or worse value than a 50p ticket elsewhere. A competition selling 50,000 tickets at £2 each for a car worth a known retail price gives you a calculable theoretical return; a competition with an undisclosed total ticket count does not, and that is a red flag regardless of which site it is on.

Which site has better odds disclosure?

Both sites disclose total ticket numbers and prize tiers within each competition's terms, but you have to go looking for it on both, as neither headlines the maths on the main entry page. This is common practice across the UK competition sector, not a flaw unique to either RevComps or BOTB, but it means the burden of checking falls on you as the entrant.

The way we approach this on any instant-win site is to open the specific competition's terms and conditions before buying, find the total number of tickets being sold, find the number of winning tickets at each prize tier, and divide one by the other to get a rough overall chance. If that information is missing, vague, or the competition does not state a maximum ticket count at all, that is a genuine reason to walk away regardless of how attractive the headline prize photo looks.

We have written a longer explainer on working this out for yourself if you want the full method rather than taking any site's word for it, including ours: our guide to working out real odds on UK prize draws walks through the calculation step by step with worked examples you can apply to any competition page, RevComps or BOTB included.

What do real players say about payout speed?

Cash prizes on instant-win tiers are generally reported as paying out within a few working days once identity checks clear, while larger prizes such as cars or five-figure cash sums take longer because of verification and logistics. This pattern holds across most reputable UK competition sites, not just these two, because KYC (know your customer) checks are a standard anti-fraud step before any significant payout, and they are not optional even if you have won fair and square.

If you win a small instant cash tier, expect to confirm your identity and bank details through whatever process the site specifies, and expect that to be the main source of delay rather than reluctance to pay. If you win a car, expect a longer process involving delivery logistics, registration paperwork, and sometimes the option to take a cash alternative instead of the vehicle itself, which some winners prefer for practical reasons.

We would treat any site that cannot explain its own payout and verification process clearly as a bigger concern than one that is upfront about the fact verification takes time. If you want the background on why these checks exist and what they involve before you win anything, our piece on how KYC checks work for instant-win cash payouts covers the process in plain terms.

Can you really win on the free postal entry route?

Yes, the free postal route carries exactly the same chance of winning as a paid ticket for the same competition, because UK law requires the free route to be entered into the identical prize pool, not a separate or lesser one. This is the legal backbone that makes the whole free prize draw model compliant, and both RevComps and BOTB operate it, as does Lucky Turbo.

In practice, the free route usually involves writing your entry details on a postcard or letter, including specific wording the competition requires, and posting it to an address published in the terms before the stated cutoff. It takes more effort than clicking buy, and that friction is precisely why most entrants choose to pay instead, but it means cost is never the only way in if you would rather not spend money on a given competition.

We think it is worth knowing this route exists even if you never use it, because it tells you something about how a site is structured. A site that makes the free route genuinely hard to find, or buries it several clicks deep in small print, is treating the legal requirement as a box-ticking exercise rather than a real option, and that is worth noting when you are forming a view of how trustworthy the operator is overall.

Which site suits which kind of player?

RevComps tends to suit players who want a quick, numbered, instant-reveal experience without engaging with a judgement-based mechanic, while BOTB suits players who enjoy the spot-the-ball tie-break and do not mind a short wait for a closing date. Neither preference is wrong; they are just different ways of enjoying the same broad category of entertainment.

If you are the kind of player who buys a ticket on a lunch break and wants to know immediately whether you have won anything, the instant-reveal format that RevComps leans on removes the waiting entirely. If you enjoy a bit more involvement, where your own judgement about where a ball was in a cropped photograph plays a part, BOTB's format gives you that extra layer, even though the actual 'skill' involved is limited and the outcome still rests heavily on chance and the panel's determination.

• Choose RevComps-style instant reveal if speed and simplicity matter most to you.
• Choose BOTB-style spot-the-ball if you enjoy a judgement element and do not mind a short wait for results.
• Check the specific competition terms on either site before buying, every time, because prize value and ticket counts change per competition.
• Use the free postal entry route on either site if you want to play without spending money, remembering it carries equal odds to a paid ticket in the same draw.

How does RevComps and BOTB compare to sites like Lucky Turbo?

Lucky Turbo runs the same free prize draw structure as RevComps and BOTB, with published odds, a genuine free postal entry route, and a mix of cash, tech and car competitions rather than a single signature mechanic. Where RevComps built its identity around fast instant reveals and BOTB around spot-the-ball, we have deliberately kept our format closer to straightforward numbered entries with clearly stated prize tiers, because that is what we hear readers trust most when they are deciding where to spend ten pounds.

If instant cash prizes are what draw you to sites like RevComps, our cash competitions run on the same instant-reveal principle with terms published per draw. If you are drawn to the tech and gadget prizes that sit alongside the headline cars on sites like BOTB, our tech competitions cover that ground, and our instant-win section is the place to see live odds and prize tiers at a glance before you commit any money, regardless of which site you ultimately choose to play on.

We are not going to tell you that one operator is objectively superior to the others, because that would be dishonest; it depends what you want from the experience. What we will say is that the checking process should be identical whatever site you land on: read the terms, confirm the ticket count, confirm the free entry route exists and works, and only then decide based on which mechanic you actually enjoy.

What should you check before spending money on either site?

Confirm the total ticket count and prize tiers in the specific competition's terms, confirm a working free postal entry route, confirm the operator's Companies House registration, and only then compare price per ticket against the prize value. This four-step check takes a few minutes and applies equally to RevComps, BOTB, Lucky Turbo or any other UK competition site you come across.

Start with the terms and conditions page for the exact competition you are considering, not a generic terms page for the whole site, because ticket counts and odds are set per draw. Next, locate the free postal entry instructions; if they are missing entirely or contradict what is advertised, treat that as disqualifying regardless of how good the prize looks. Then search the company name on Companies House to confirm it is a real, currently active UK registered business, which takes under a minute and costs nothing.

Finally, do the simple maths: ticket price multiplied by total tickets tells you the maximum revenue the operator could take from that competition, and you can weigh that against the stated prize value to get a feel for how generous the structure is. None of this guarantees a win, because these are prize draws governed by chance and nobody can promise an outcome, but it does mean you are spending your money with full information rather than on vibes alone. If you ever feel you are spending more than you intended or chasing a loss, step back, and remember that responsible play means treating these as entertainment with a free entry option, never as an income strategy.