Loud! OOH Calls for Disclosure Standards in Prize Draw and Competition Advertising
London, UK – Independent out-of-home agency Loud! OOH has issued four disclosure requests to UK media owners in anticipation of a surge in outdoor advertising from prize draw and competition operators. This sector, which has been found to take an estimated £1.3 billion annually from UK consumers, is expected to increase its outdoor bookings over the next year.
In order to ensure transparency and responsible advertising practices, Loud! OOH is urging media owners to adopt the following voluntary disclosure standards for any prize draw bookings:
– Clearly displaying the free entry route on the creative itself, rather than just in the terms and conditions.
– Stating the odds or total entry cap alongside the advertised prize.
– Disclosing any cash alternative when a physical prize is shown.
– Screening sites for proximity to schools and colleges, as if the CAP gambling rules applied.
The prize draw and competition sector has experienced rapid growth and has only recently begun to formalize. The government’s Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draw Operators went into effect on May 20, 2026, and in July, approximately fifty operators formed the Prize Competition Council, the first trade association for this sector. Research commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport found that around 7.4 million UK adults had entered a prize draw or competition in the last year, spending an estimated £1.3 billion. The report also noted that operators who are not subject to the Gambling Act are free to spend heavily on advertising in order to grow their businesses.
Loud! OOH believes that out-of-home advertising is a natural fit for this category, as the primary obstacle for these operators is consumer trust. Paid social media reaches only one person on a private screen and cannot vouch for the advertiser, while a billboard is public, dated, sold through a named media owner, and verifiable by anyone who passes by. This provides the reassurance that these operators need to invest in outdoor advertising.
Jamie Roberts, founder of Loud! OOH, stated, “If the free entry route is the only reason a prize draw poster is legal, it should be readable from the top deck of a bus, not buried three clicks into a terms page.” He added, “Out-of-home has arrived late to this conversation before, with gambling and with high fat, salt and sugar advertising, and each time the position got set by somebody else after the posters were already up. The medium sells itself on being seen in public and being accountable for what it shows. That is worth more than any single category of spend.”
The agency has previously executed outdoor campaigns that focused on public comprehension rather than direct response, such as the Flood Re “The Living Room” campaign, a flood risk awareness campaign delivered through a 3D anamorphic digital EcoVan in Manchester. Loud! OOH also provides resources for understanding billboard pricing across UK formats and the costs of advertising on the London Underground.
About Loud! OOH
Loud! OOH is an independent out-of-home advertising agency with offices in Leeds and London, established in 2026. The agency publishes its complete rate card publicly and does not charge a markup on media, with 48-sheet regional billboards listed from £325. Its clients include Flood Re, Renegade, Volvo, the Scotch Whisky Association, and Mulberry Homes. Founder Jamie Roberts has 20 years of experience in advertising, including six years in out-of-home, and previously worked on Google’s AdWords team covering the UK and Ireland.
Sources:
– Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draw Operators, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, in force May 20, 2026
– Prize Competition Council, established July 2026
– Online prize draws and competitions: market study, assessment of harm and review of potential interventions, London Economics for Department for Culture, Media and Sport, published June 2025
Media Contact:
Jamie Roberts, Founder, Loud! OOH – loudooh.co.uk
