How the prize winner is chosen

When Charity Engine announces a prize draw, the List of Entries is published and a date for the draw chosen in advance. 

The List of Entries shows each user's unique ID number and how many prize draw entries they have in total. Everyone can verify their own place on the list and the block of numbers assigned to their entries. Any mistakes must be reported within 48 hours, then the list is final.

The total number of entries is expected to be a 9 or 10 digit number, so we choose one randomly by combining the last digits of the following stock market closing prices on the pre-chosen date:

Tokyo (Nikkei 225), Hong Kong (Hang Seng), Mumbai (Sensex), Frankfurt (DAX), and finally New York (Dow Jones). Each is in a different time zone, so the winning number is revealed one digit at a time over the course of the day.

The prize winning number is chosen right-to-left, or 'smallest first'. If the last stock market chooses a number that is too high for the final digit, we cycle around the stock markets again until a valid number is chosen. Human hands are never involved.

Last digits of stock market closing prices are completely random and mathematically impossible to predict or tamper with in any way. That's why we use them for Charity Engine.