A QR code raffle is a raffle where supporters scan a printed or on-screen code with their phone camera, land directly on your ticket page, and buy in under a minute, with digital tickets delivered instantly by email or SMS. No paper books, no cash-only stalls, no typing web addresses. The raffle itself runs on a digital platform; the QR code is the bridge that connects the physical world to it.
That bridge is worth more than it looks. Every place a person encounters your cause, a noticeboard, an event table, a shop counter, a big screen, becomes a point of sale. Here is how to set one up and get the most from it.
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How a QR code raffle works
- Set up your raffle on a digital platform with prizes, ticket prices and bundles
- Generate the QR code linking to your campaign page; GalaBid provides one for every campaign, ready to print
- Put the code everywhere your supporters look (more on placement below)
- Supporters scan, buy by card or phone wallet, and receive numbered tickets instantly by email or SMS
- The draw runs digitally with a certified random number generator, and winners are notified automatically the moment they are drawn
The whole system removes the two biggest killers of raffle sales: friction (finding the page, having cash) and follow-through (people who meant to buy later and never did). A scan converts intent into a sale in the moment it exists.
Where to put your QR code
The rule: wherever attention already gathers. The best-performing placements we see:
At events. Table talkers at every table, large signage at the raffle stall and entrance, and the code on the big screen between announcements. When restaurant owner Julia Moretz ran an emergency community fundraiser, printed QR codes around the venue took guests straight into the campaign; the only questions she fielded were about the Wi-Fi.
In the community. School newsletters, club noticeboards, church bulletins, local shop counters (ask your prize donors first, they have every reason to say yes), sports club canteens, and the back of event tickets.
On your people. Cards volunteers hand out, lanyards or badges at events, and team shirts for big campaigns. A roving volunteer with a QR card converts conversations into sales without handling money.
On screens. Your email signature, social posts, presentation slides, and any video content. On-screen codes work: people scan from laptops and TVs constantly.
Design and print it properly
Most QR failures are physical, not digital:
- Size: minimum 2 x 2 cm for hand-held cards, and much larger for posters; a code scanned from a distance needs to be big. The rough rule is a scanning distance no more than ten times the code's width.
- Contrast: dark code on a light background. Reversed or low-contrast codes fail on older phones.
- Glare: matte lamination, not gloss. Glossy pouches under venue lights are the most common scan failure at events.
- Quiet zone: leave white space around the code; cropping it tight breaks scanning.
- Fallback: always print the short URL under the code for the minority who cannot or will not scan.
- Test it on both an iPhone and an Android, from the distance it will actually be scanned, before printing 200 of them.
One more: put a call to action next to the code. "Scan to win a $500 hamper" outperforms a bare code dramatically, because the code itself communicates nothing about the reward.
Make the destination worth the scan
The QR code gets people to the page; the page makes the sale. A scan from a poster is almost always a phone visit from someone with seconds of attention, so the landing page needs the prize, the price and the buy button visible without scrolling. Our charity raffle landing page best practices guide covers the full anatomy; the short version is prize-led headline, one clear button, and a purchase flow that finishes in under a minute.
Use QR codes to bridge cash and digital
At in-person events, some supporters will still want to pay cash. The QR code strategy pairs with volunteer selling: supporters who scan buy directly, and volunteers with a device in volunteer mode take cash or card for anyone who prefers, entering the sale on the spot so the purchaser still gets a digital ticket. One system, every payment preference covered, no reconciliation afterwards. Our guide to selling raffle tickets at in-person events covers the full stall and volunteer setup.
Track what each placement earns
If you run one campaign across several venues or channels, you can learn which placements pull their weight. The simplest method: watch when sales spike against where the code was that day. For more precision, some organisations print different codes with tagged links for major placements. Even the rough version teaches you where next campaign's print budget should go.
Common QR raffle mistakes
Printing before testing; codes too small for the scanning distance; glossy laminate under bright lights; no URL fallback; a landing page that buries the buy button; and putting the code up without a reason to scan next to it. Every one is cheap to avoid and expensive to discover on the night.
Set up your QR code raffle
On GalaBid, every campaign comes with a shareable link and QR code, tickets are delivered instantly by email or SMS, volunteers can sell alongside the code in volunteer mode, and the draw and winner notification run automatically. Set up your raffle free on GalaBid's raffle platform, print your code, and turn every noticeboard in town into a ticket seller.