The Wheel of Names Picker draws a fair random winner from any list you paste — names, ticket numbers, entries, options. It is ideal for classroom rewards, giveaways, raffles and prize draws, and it runs entirely in your browser so your list stays private.
Fair, unbiased draws
The picker chooses a winner using your browser’s cryptographically secure random generator (crypto.getRandomValues). That means every name has an exactly equal chance — there is no hidden weighting toward the first or last entries, and no way to rig the result.
Sequential draws
Turn on remove the winner after each draw and each pick is taken out of the pool. Clicking again draws from the remaining names, giving you a fair ordered sequence of unique winners — perfect for “1st, 2nd, 3rd place” raffles.
Because everything happens locally, you can run as many draws as you like with no network calls and complete privacy.
Why cryptographic randomness matters for draws
Many simpler random pickers use Math.random(), which is a pseudorandom number generator. Pseudorandom generators are fine for most purposes but can produce subtle statistical biases over large numbers of draws, and in security-sensitive contexts they are not truly unpredictable. This picker uses crypto.getRandomValues, the same randomness source that browsers use for cryptographic operations — it draws from the operating system’s entropy pool, which means the outcome cannot be predicted or reproduced by anyone observing the draw.
For a classroom pick or a small giveaway this distinction rarely matters in practice. But for a public prize draw where participants need to trust the fairness of the outcome, using a cryptographically secure source is the honest choice.
Practical use cases
Classroom teacher picking a student to answer. Paste the class roll (one name per line), draw one name, and the randomness is clearly beyond the teacher’s control — no accusation of favouritism.
Giveaway on social media. Collect the names or usernames of people who entered, paste the list, draw the winner in a screen-recorded session. The draw is verifiable: the list is visible, the draw is a single click, and the result is the first name highlighted.
Deciding meeting order or presentation slots. Paste the team members’ names and draw them one by one with elimination enabled — you get a randomised presentation order in seconds with no arguments about who goes first.
Multiple prize tiers. Enable elimination and draw sequentially: first draw = 1st prize, second draw = 2nd prize, and so on. Each winner is removed before the next draw, so there are no duplicates.
Secret Santa assignment. Paste the names of everyone in the group, draw one at a time, and assign each drawn name to the person to their left (or whatever assignment rule the group uses). The draw itself is random even if the assignment rule is predetermined.
Tips for best results
- Put one entry per line, or separate entries with commas — the tool handles both.
- For a raffle with numbered tickets, paste ticket numbers instead of names for a fully anonymous draw.
- If the group is large (hundreds of entries), the tool still draws instantly — all computation is local and takes under a millisecond.
- Run your draw on a shared screen or with screen recording if you need to demonstrate the result was not rigged.