Utilore

Spin the Wheel

Type one name per line, press spin and watch the wheel stop on somebody. Every slice has exactly the same chance, and the same name written twice simply gets two tickets. The list stays in this browser: nothing about your draw is sent anywhere.

Put one name per line and spin. The wheel picks by a fair draw, not by how hard it was spun.

The winner is drawn before the wheel starts turning, from the browser’s cryptographic random source, and the spin is then aimed at that slice. It sounds backwards, but it is the honest way round: if the result came from where the animation happened to stop, equal-looking slices would not be equal chances — rounding in the drawing would decide. Every slice here has exactly the same chance, and repeating a name twice is a legitimate way to give it two tickets.

Nearby: Random Picker, Random Number Generator, Coin Flip, Password Generator

How to use

  1. Type the names into the box, one per line. The wheel redraws as you type.
  2. Press «Spin the wheel» — or just click the wheel itself. It turns for about four seconds and stops with the pointer on the winner.
  3. For a draw with several rounds, tick «Remove the winner from the list»: each spin takes the winner out, so nobody is drawn twice.
  4. «Shuffle the list» reorders the names without drawing anyone — useful when you need a running order rather than a single winner.

Good to know

The winner is drawn before the wheel starts turning

It sounds backwards, and it is the honest way round. The draw is made first, from the browser's cryptographic random source, and only then does the spin aim at that slice. If the result instead came from wherever the animation happened to stop, slices that look identical would not be identical chances: rounding in the drawing and the frame rate of your screen would quietly tilt the odds. Doing it in this order means the picture is a way of showing the result, not a way of producing it — and every name has exactly the same chance whether there are three names or two hundred.

Writing a name twice gives it two tickets

Repeated lines are kept on purpose. If one person bought two raffle tickets, or one team gets a double share, write the name twice and the wheel will show two slices with that name. This is the simplest honest way to run a weighted draw, and it stays visible: anybody looking at the wheel can count the slices and check the weights for themselves, which is not true of a hidden multiplier.

The list never leaves your browser

Names of pupils, staff or customers are ordinary personal data, and there is no reason for them to travel. The list is kept in this browser's local storage so it survives a reload, and it is not sent to a server, not shared between devices and not visible to us. Clearing your browser data removes it. The page itself works with the network switched off — you can check by turning off the Wi-Fi and spinning again.

Frequently asked questions

Is the draw actually random?

Yes. Each spin takes a number from crypto.getRandomValues, the browser's cryptographic random source — the same one used for keys and session tokens — and the tail of the range is discarded rather than folded back, so the first names do not come up more often. There is no weighting except the one you add yourself by repeating a name.

Can I make one name more likely?

Write it more than once. Two lines with the same name give two slices out of the total, and the wheel shows it — the weight is visible to everyone watching rather than hidden in a setting.

How many names fit on the wheel?

Up to two hundred. Past forty or so the labels get short and the wheel stops being readable at a glance, but the draw stays exactly as fair — if you only need the answer and not the picture, a plain list picker is easier to read.

Is my list saved anywhere?

Only in this browser, so that it is still there after a reload. It is not sent to a server and not shared with another device or another browser on the same computer. Clear your site data and it is gone.

Can we use it for a real prize draw?

Yes, and it is easier to make a public draw honest with a wheel than with a hat: agree on the list before the spin, show the wheel on a shared screen so everyone can count the slices, and record the screen if the result has to be defended later.

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