You've probably seen the fancy commercials for Omaze. If you pay to enter a sweepstake, you get to support charity and be in with the chance of winning an incredible prize like a dream home, luxury car, or celebrity experience. It's all very enticing.
You might wonder whether Omaze is legitimate. It certainly seems too good to be true. Can you really win a prize? Is the money actually going to charity? Whatever questions you have about Omaze, we're going to answer them.
What Is Omaze?
Omaze is a fundraising company that aims to raise money for charity, give away spectacular prizes, and generate profit for itself. It launched in the US in 2012 and in the UK in 2020. Across both countries, Omaze says it has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for over 600 charities.
Omaze runs sweepstakes to raise money for a charity. The more money you hand over, the more entries you get into the sweepstake. There is also a "no purchase necessary" option.
The concept of the business is that it encourages you to give more money to charity than you might typically, to be in with the chance of winning a prize. Omaze claims that its business model is superior to traditional prize auctioning because more people can enter at a lower cost, thus creating more money for the charity overall.
To quote Omaze:
A smaller percentage of a larger amount is more impactful than a bigger percentage of a smaller amount. And as Omaze experiences come at no-cost and no risk to the nonprofits, your donations make a big difference for organizations around the world.
What Can You Win on Omaze?
It's fair to say that Omaze offers some absolutely fantastic prizes. This includes large sums of money, cars, houses, vacations, and celebrity experiences.
The big-names celebrities are what helped give Omaze its legitimacy. Previous Omaze winners have visited the set of Star Wars, met the cast of Game of Thrones, and hung out with Matt Damon. Celebrities also help promote some prizes, if it's supporting a charity they associate with.
As part of the larger draws, Omaze offers "early bird" prizes. Since the draws are usually open for months, these prizes get dished out over the weeks. It's designed to get you to enter as soon as possible, in fear of missing out. As an example from the UK, early bird prizes on a draw for a house have included £100,000 and a Mini Cooper. Even if you win one of these, you could still win the grand prize too—though that's unlikely.
Does the Money From Omaze Go to Charity?
Yes, Omaze does give money to charity. However, not all of your contribution goes to charity. Since Omaze is a for-profit business, it takes a proportion of your payment for itself.
In the US, the breakdown differs on the sweepstakes type. For celebrity prizes, 60% of your donation goes to the charity, 25% covers the experience costs, and 15% goes to Omaze. For other sweepstakes, 15% goes to charity, 65 to 75% pays for the prize, and the rest goes to Omaze.
In the UK, the charity receives 80% of the net proceeds, with Omaze taking the remaining 20%. This doesn't mean that 80% of your money goes to charity because "net proceeds" is the total once the cost of the prizes and marketing are deducted.
All that said, if you want to be truly altruistic and ensure that a charity receives all of your contribution, you should donate directly to them. Some charities even accept crypto payments!
Is Omaze Legit?
The big question is whether Omaze is legit. Or is it some sort of internet scam or fraud? Don't fear. Omaze is legit; it does give money to charity and hand out its epic prizes. The company gets regulated to ensure this. Besides, charities wouldn't keep partnering with Omaze if they didn't receive any money.
A secondary question is whether you have a chance of winning. Theoretically, yes, you could win the grand prize, but the odds are slim. Omaze doesn't reveal how many people enter the sweepstakes, but it's a huge number. Plus, it's not just the number of people who enter you're contending with, but how many entries they buy.
Ultimately, you shouldn't get swept up in Omaze's flashy marketing. Don't buy more entries than you can afford. Don't pin your hopes on winning. Instead, think of it as a fun way to give some money to charity.
How to Enter an Omaze Sweepstake
At the time of writing in February 2023, Omaze isn't hosting any US sweepstakes because it wants to simplify the experiences it offers and needs time to "reflect on how to do this effectively."
Meanwhile, Omaze UK is always launching new sweepstakes. To find out about these and enter them, go to the Omaze website. If you're not using the official Omaze website, you're going to get scammed.
You can enter any active sweepstake through a one-off entry, paying more depending on how many entries you want. Omaze UK also offers a subscription, which charges you a recurring monthly cost for a fixed number of entries into any active sweepstakes. Once you've entered, you'll receive an entry code. If Omaze draw this entry code, you win.
You're encouraged to create an account during this process, which lets you check your past entries and keep your contact details updated. This latter point is important, since Omaze will only contact you if you win—which saves you having to manually check your entry code.
You can also browse the past draws and their winners, if you fancy feeling envious. Omaze often produce flashy videos to show the winners' surprised reactions.
Give to Charity and Make a Difference in the World
Remember, while Omaze dishes out some stunning, once-in-a-lifetime prizes, it doesn't give all the money to charity. As such, if you want to ensure that your donation goes as far as it can, give your money directly to your favored cause.
No matter how much you can afford to give, every little helps make a huge difference in the world. Importantly, your charitable contribution doesn't have to be financial—donating your time or spreading the word is essential too.