What “sealed before the draw” actually means
Sealing a ticket list before a prize draw is the single most important fairness step. Here's what it means, in plain English, and why it stops a list being quietly changed.
“Sealed before the draw” is a phrase you'll see on every certified draw. It's the foundation of a fair result. Here's what it means without the jargon.
Locking the list in public
The moment entries close, the complete list of tickets is published and given a single fingerprint code (a “hash”). From that point on, nobody — not the operator, not the Register — can add, remove or swap a single ticket without that fingerprint changing completely. One altered name and it no longer matches.
Why it matters
Without sealing, there's nothing stopping a dishonest operator adding a friend's ticket after entries close, or quietly dropping tickets. Sealing makes the list tamper-evident: any change is obvious to anyone who checks. And because the sealed list is public, entrants can confirm their own tickets are in it before the draw even happens.
You can check it yourself
On a certified draw you can look up your own tickets in the sealed list, and re-run the sealing sum over the whole list to confirm it still matches the fingerprint recorded at the start. Same list, same code — for everyone.