How to run a win-by-SMS competition in South Africa

The short version

A win-by-SMS competition lets anyone with a basic phone enter your promotion by texting a keyword to a five-digit short code. In South Africa it is governed by the Consumer Protection Act, the WASPA Code of Conduct and POPIA. Get those three right and SMS is still one of the widest reach entry mechanics in the country. Get them wrong and you are looking at a fine or a competition that has to be re-run.

This is the operator version of how it works. What the mechanic is, what it costs, what the law actually requires, and where brands trip up.

What a “win-by-SMS” competition actually is

A win-by-SMS competition is a promotion where consumers enter by sending a keyword to a short code and stand a chance to win a prize. The brand advertises a line, for example “SMS WIN to 12345 to enter”. The consumer texts it. They get a confirmation reply, their entry is logged, and the draw happens against that pool of entrants.

Behind that one line sits a short code, a connection across all four mobile networks, an entry database, and a draw mechanism.

Why does anyone still use SMS when WhatsApp exists? Reach. SMS works on every handset on Vodacom, MTN, Cell C and Telkom Mobile, including the feature phones and data-light users that a WhatsApp-only campaign never touches. For a national FMCG promotion aimed at the full market, that gap matters.

How an SMS competition works, step by step

1. You advertise the entry line. “SMS WIN to 12345. R1.50 per entry. T&Cs apply.” On pack, on radio, in store, online.
2. The consumer texts the keyword. Their cellphone number and the keyword reach the short code across whichever network they are on.
3. The platform validates and replies. It checks the entry against the rules, logs it, and sends a confirmation SMS back. If the campaign needs proof of purchase, this is where a managed competitions platform can ask the entrant to photograph a till slip for receipt validation.
4. Entries accumulate. Daily, weekly or for the full run, depending on the mechanic and terms of the competition.
5. The draw runs under certification. An independent auditor or attorney oversees and certifies the winner selection, which the law requires.

If you would rather not assemble the short code, the rules, the auditor and the data pipeline yourself, a management mobile competition platform facilitates all five steps end to end.

What it costs to run

An SMS competition has three cost layers plus the prize. The consumer pays the entry transmission cost, typically R1.50. The short code rental, the platform set up and management fee are costs to the brand. The prize pool is a separate budget line.

Cost layer	Who pays	Working range
Entry SMS	The consumer	Transmission cost only — R1.50 per entry is the working benchmark
Short code rental	The brand	Monthly rental for a dedicated five-digit code, less for a shared code
Platform and setup	The brand	Once-off build plus a per-campaign management fee
Prize pool	The brand	Whatever the promotion promises

Two different numbers get confused here, so it is worth separating them. Short code tariffs in general run anywhere from standard network rate up to R30.00 per message, depending on the service. That is the commercial range for premium-rated SMS as a whole. It is not what you may charge for a competition entry.

For a promotional competition specifically, the entry charge is limited to the reasonable cost of transmitting the entry, and R1.50 is the working benchmark the industry runs to under the WASPA Code of Conduct and the Consumer Protection Act regulations. Whatever you charge has to be disclosed wherever the competition is advertised. “R1.50 per entry” is not fine print you can bury. It is a compliance requirement.

A shared short code keeps setup costs low and launches in days. A dedicated code costs more and takes two to six weeks to provision, but it is yours and it reads cleaner for a big national brand. Most first-time runs start shared.

The legal part most brands get wrong

South African promotional competitions are regulated by section 36 of the Consumer Protection Act and Regulation 11, not the Lotteries Act, and the rules are stricter than most brand teams expect. Three requirements catch people out every time.

Entry is mandatory — a fee to play is not. A promotional competition has to have an entry mechanism: consumers must do something to enter. What section 36 of the Consumer Protection Act restricts is charging them for the chance to win. A consumer cannot be required to pay beyond the reasonable cost of transmitting the entry, which is what the SMS charge is — a transmission cost, not a fee to play. Regulation 11 caps that transmission cost; it does not require you to run a second, free entry channel alongside it. Many promoters offer one anyway (“or enter free at…”), and it is sensible risk-averse practice, but treat it as belt and braces rather than a stated obligation.

The rules must exist and survive. You have to draw up the competition rules before it opens, make them available to any entrant who asks and to the National Consumer Commission, and keep them for three years after the competition closes. No rules document, no compliant competition.

The draw must be certified. Regulation 11 requires an independent accountant, registered auditor, attorney or advocate to oversee and certify the draw. You cannot pull the winner yourself in the boardroom. This is the single most common gap in competitions run without a specialist partner.

Then there is the data. The moment you capture an entrant’s number to market to them later, section 69 of POPIA applies. Direct marketing by SMS needs opt-in consent. An entry is not consent to be marketed to. If you want to use the list afterwards, you have to ask, clearly, and let people say no.

SMS or USSD or WhatsApp: which entry channel

SMS is the right entry channel when you need maximum reach on the simplest possible action, and a poor one when you need rich media or a multi-step conversation. The three mass-market channels each earn their place on a different job.

• SMS wins on reach and simplicity. One keyword, one short code, every handset. Best for high-volume national draws where the only ask is “enter”.
• USSD wins when you need a menu or data capture inside one session without the consumer paying for data. It is worth weighing USSD as an entry channel for any campaign that needs a few questions answered at entry.
• WhatsApp wins on conversation, verification and rich media, but it needs an active data connection, so it misses part of the market. It is the channel we leaned on for how we ran WhatsApp at AFCON 2025, where two-way nurture mattered more than raw reach.

Plenty of campaigns run two channels at once and let each do its job. SMS for breadth, WhatsApp for depth.

What goes wrong, and how to avoid it

The four failures that sink SMS competitions are pricing that is not disclosed, charging above the permitted transmission cost, an uncertified draw, and reusing entrant data without consent. Each one is avoidable and each one is a real risk under SA law.

Fraud is the fifth. High-value prizes attract bulk and duplicate entries, scripted entries, and manipulated proof of purchase. A campaign that captures till slips needs image validation that flags duplicate or doctored submissions before they reach the draw, or your winner is a script and your brand is the headline.

The fix for all five is the same. Run it on a platform built for SA compliance, with the short code, the rules, the certified draw and the consent capture handled as one system rather than five separate scrambles two days before launch.

FAQs

How much does it cost to enter an SMS competition in South Africa? Entry is limited to the reasonable cost of transmitting the entry, and R1.50 per entry is the benchmark the industry works to. Short code tariffs in general go higher — up to R30.00 for premium services — but that range does not apply to competition entries. Whatever you charge must be shown wherever the competition is advertised, and many brands subsidise it down to free.

Do I need a licence to run an SMS competition? You do not need a lottery licence for a promotional competition, but you must comply with section 36 of the Consumer Protection Act, keep written rules for three years, and have the draw independently certified.

Can I market to people who entered my competition? Only if they opt in. Under POPIA section 69, entering a competition is not consent to receive direct marketing, so you have to ask separately and let entrants decline.

How long does it take to set up? A shared short code can launch in days. A dedicated five-digit code takes roughly two to six weeks to provision across all four networks.