GUIDE

How to run a
whitelist raffle

A step-by-step playbook for allowlist raffles — from the rules you set to the list your mint team receives.

Last reviewed September 2026

1. Decide what the raffle is for

Every choice follows from the goal. Growing awareness calls for X follows and reposts. Rewarding your existing community calls for holder or Discord-role requirements. A collab with another project calls for rules that bring in their community while protecting the value of your spots. Write the goal down in one sentence before you configure anything.

2. Pick the format

  • Random draw — entries are collected over a window and winners are drawn from eligible entries at the end. Fair, time-zone friendly, and good for building anticipation.
  • First come, first served (FCFS) — the first eligible entries win until the spots run out. Fast and exciting, but it rewards speed, so verification needs to be tight.

3. Set entry requirements that match the goal

Combine a few requirements rather than piling on many. Each one should either grow something you care about or filter out people you don’t want on the list.

  • X actions: follow your account (and your partner’s), like and repost the announcement, comment, or publish a post with your text. Make the ones that matter required, not optional bonuses — optional tasks are mostly skipped.
  • Discord: server membership or a specific role, to reward people already active in your community.
  • On-chain: hold a minimum number of NFTs or tokens on the right network, or be on an existing wallet allowlist.

In Rafflex you add all three kinds in one entry flow, and each X action is verified separately.

4. Schedule it and write clear copy

Choose start and end times in UTC, state the number of winners and exactly what they receive (guaranteed spot, FCFS spot, discount), and add the mint date if you know it. Clear copy cuts support questions in half.

5. Promote it where your community is

Pin the X announcement, post in Discord and share the raffle link with partners. A Discord bot that posts the raffle with a one-click entry button — and later the winners and mint reminders — saves your moderators hours.

6. Verify entries and keep bots out

Check requirements at the moment of entry, not by hand afterwards. Combine a social signal (X, Discord) with an on-chain one where it makes sense, and cap entries if you expect a rush. See how to stop bots in NFT raffles.

7. Draw winners and deliver the list

When the raffle ends, draw winners from eligible entries, review them, and hand the wallet list to whoever runs the mint — your own team or your collab partner. Decide the handoff before the raffle starts: an export, a private winners link, or automatic delivery of the list to your partner’s X account the moment results are final.

8. Close the loop

Announce winners publicly (without private details), remind them before mint, and note what worked for the next raffle. Saving the configuration as a template makes the next one a two-minute job.

Whitelist raffle questions

What is a whitelist raffle?

A whitelist (or allowlist) raffle is a giveaway where the prize is a guaranteed or early spot to mint an NFT or buy a token. Community members meet entry requirements — such as following on X or holding an NFT — and winners’ wallets are added to the project’s mint list.

Random draw or first come, first served?

Use a random draw when you want fairness and a longer campaign that builds hype. Use FCFS when you want to reward the fastest, most engaged members and fill spots immediately. FCFS rewards speed, so strong verification matters even more.

How long should a whitelist raffle run?

24 to 72 hours works for most raffles: long enough for people across time zones to enter, short enough to keep urgency. Collabs often run 24–48 hours.

How many whitelist spots should I give away?

Size it against your mint: many projects keep total allowlist spots to a fraction of supply so the list stays valuable, then split spots across their own raffles and partner collabs.

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Run it on Rafflex

Random draw or FCFS, verified entry actions, and a winner list that gets where it needs to go. Try every Pro feature free for 7 days — no card required.