Footy tipping competition (paid entry)

A season-long competition where entrants tip winners each round; the top tipsters win prizes.

Typically raises

$800

$200–3,000 per seasonest.

About $40 per organiser hour

Based on about 60 entries at $20

Is it right for us?

Money: $500–2,000
Work: A few evenings
Helpers: 1–2 people
Lead time: 2–3 weeks
Red tape: Light

Common: footy tipping is everywhere in offices and clubs

People: 1-2
Organiser time: 20 hours over a season (about 1 per round, estimate)
Lead time: 2-3 weeks before the season
Up-front cost: Low.
Risk: Low: prizes come out of the entry money.

Suits: Sports club or team, Community group, marae or service club

Less usual for: Charity

When: Autumn (Mar–May), Winter (Jun–Aug), Start of the sports season, Big sporting events

How big a job: A few evenings, 1–2 people

How it works

The money, as an example sum

Sell at $20 a entry, keep $20, so 40 entries = $800. That’s about the typical result.

Using the figures on this page. Your prices and costs will differ.

Where the money figure comes from

[Estimate] e.g. 60 entries x $20 = $1,200 with >= $240 in prizes.

Last checked October 2026. Ran this? Tell us what you raised and we’ll use real results to improve the figures.

Step by step

Set the entry fee, prizes and rules (ties, missed rounds).
Collect entry fees in person; record entrants.
Pick a free tipping app or a spreadsheet for scoring (no payments through it).
Score weekly and post a leaderboard.
Award prizes at season end and record the payouts.

Getting the word out

Even a well-run plan fails if nobody hears about it. There are two asks, and the first one goes out first.

Ask for help: Someone to take entries, and a business to give the prize.
Ask people to buy: People to enter.
When to start: Ask for helpers first, as soon as the date is set. Start the public ask about 3–4 weeks out, and book newsletter and paper notices before that: small newsletters close early.

Where to put it

Asking people yourselfMost yeses come from someone asking directly. Give every member a short message they can send to family and workmates.
PostersPosters at the school gate, the clubrooms and shop windows, with the date, place, price and how to pay.
School, club and church newslettersYour own newsletter is free and read by the families most likely to say yes. Check when it closes.
Email lists and group chatsYour members’ email list and the class, team or church group chats. Short, with one date or one link.

The full guide to getting the word out: every channel from flyers to the evening news, with lead times and costs.

What you’ll need

Place: Not neededNone needed
Landowner’s permission: Not needed
Council permit: Not needed
Food rules: Not neededNo food sold
Alcohol: Not neededNo alcohol sold
Gambling rules: NeededClass 2: prizes up to $5,000 and all tickets printed worth up to $25,000. Run by a club or society, with the money going to community or charitable purposes. Prizes at least 20% of ticket value; sold in person only, every ticket numbered (our rule: on paper). Prizes over $5,000 need a Class 3 licence

DIA treats paid tipping as a prize competition: society-run, prizes at least 20%. Our advice: take entries in person; entries taken online or by message are likely remote gambling. Class 1 if prizes and takings are both $500 or less.

Make more from it

A sponsor funds the weekly round prize
$100-500 (estimate)
weekly emails and leaderboards give the sponsor exposure

Stack it: on its own, about $800. With the add-on above, roughly

$1,100est.

What you can get donated

Prizes from sponsors.

Tips

A free tipping app plus in-person entry fee keeps it simple.

Watch out for

Taking entries remotely, paid by transfer, from people never met.