General Questions
Ballot Help
Refer-a-Friend Help
Prize Page Help
Group Play Help
Leaderboard Help
Technical Help


General Questions

What is SportsBallot.com?
SportsBallot.com is the ultimate online sports contest site. Sports enthusiasts participate in FREE sports pick'em contests that cover a number of professional and collegiate sports. To play, participants must log on to SportsBallot.com and cast thier sports ballots. The particpant with the best score on a sports ballot wins. In addition, all participants earn raffle tickets based on how well they perform on the sports ballots. Participants may then enter the numerous raffle drawings on the Prizes page.
What is a sports ballot?
Sports ballots are sports prediction contests. Each sports ballot has a Best Score prize, which is the prize awarded to the participant with the best score on the ballot contest. The ballot prize is listed on the ballot as well as on the Prizes page for that contest.
How do I play a sports ballot?
1) To play, you must first be a registered member of SportsBallot.com.
2) After registering, click on a sports ballot button on the navigation bar.
3) Make your ballot picks, including all the tie-breaker questions.
4) Click on the Submit button at the bottom of the ballot.
5) Your ballot will be officially submitted as soon as the SportsBallot.com timer completes.
6) You will receive a confirmation email to confirm your entry.
7) You will receive a results email after your ballot has been scored.
8) If you are a winner, you will receive a Winner email to notify you.
What is a Perfect Ballot?
If a participant answers all the ballot questions correctly (not including the tiebreaker questions), then that participant has scored a Perfect Ballot. A participant with a Perfect Ballot score will earn bonus raffle tickets, as stated on the ballot.
How is this free?
SportsBallot.com is FREE thanks to our featured sponsors.
Are all fields required on the registration form?
No, some registration fields are required and some are optional. All required fields will be clearly marked with an * asterisk.
Is this considered gambling?
SportsBallot.com is a free online sports entertainment site. All sports ballot contests are games of skill. Also, all SportsBallot.com contests are free to enter. SportsBallot.com may not be used in connection with any form of gambling.
How often can I play?
You can play each sports ballot contest a total of one time. Once you submit your sports ballot, it is final and you cannot make changes to it.
How do I know if I won a prize?
You will receive a Winner email if you won a prize. The Winner email will state what ballot contest or raffle you won, what the prize is, a description of the prize, and how to claim your prize.
How do I opt out of reminder emails or sponsored emails?
To remove yourself from receiving emails from SportsBallot.com sponsors or SportsBallot.com reminders, you need to edit your profile. There are two ways to edit your profile: 1) You can log into SportsBallot.com, click on the "edit" link next to your Username, and then opt-out of receiving emails on the "Edit Profile" page; 2) You can click on the opt-out link at the bottom of the SportsBallot.com email. This will load an Opt-Out page where you can enter the email address that you would like to remove from the email list.
Do you sell my personal information?
SportsBallot.com does not sell any personal information. Please read our privacy policy for more information. The privacy policy is located on the footer of our page.
How do I contact a SportsBallot.com representative?
First, use the FAQs to try to find the answer to any of your questions. If you still need assistance, please send an email to support@sportsballot.com.
How do I advertise with SportsBallot.com?
If you are interested in advertising with us, please send an email to advertising@sportsballot.com.
What is HOOPS HYSTERIA?
HOOPS HYSTERIA is a free college basketball tournament bracket contest on SportsBallot.com. Sports enthusiasts may make their tournament bracket picks before the tournament begins. Bracket scores are updated daily throughout the college basketball tournament. Participants may create office pools in the Group Play section and compete against their friends.


Ballot Help

When can I enter a sports ballot contest?
A ballot is live until the Ballot Close time is reached. As soon as the ballot closes, no more ballot entries can be submitted. The Ballot Close time is clearly stated on the SportsBallot.com homepage under the column titled, "Ballot Closes at (all times ET)."
How do I select a team on the ballot?
Click the radio button next to the team that you predict will win. If there is the option for a tie game, you may select the radio button under the ‘tie’ column. If the ballot has pull-down menus, use the pull-down menus to make your selections.
Do you use odds?
SportsBallot.com does not use odds of any kind, unless explicitly stated in the Official Rules.
How do I submit my ballot?
In order to submit your ballot, you must make sure that your ballot is completely filled out and then you must click the Submit at the bottom of the ballot. You must wait until the SportsBallot.com timer finishes before your ballot has been officially submitted.
What is the purpose of the tiebreakers?
If there is a tie for the best score on a ballot, then the tie-breaker questions will be used to decide the ONE winner. If there is still a tie after going through all the tie-breaker questions, then SportsBallot.com will conduct a random drawing of the remaining participants to decide the ballot winner for the contest.
What is a ticket?
Tickets are SportsBallot.com currency. They have no monetary value. They can only be used to enter SportsBallot.com raffle drawings on the Prizes page.
How do I earn tickets?
Tickets are earned by making correct predictions on the sports ballot contests.
Do I ever earn tickets for getting the tiebreaker questions correct?
No. You do not earn tickets for getting the tiebreaker questions correct. The tiebreaker questions are only used to settle any ties.


Refer-a-Friend Help

How do I refer a friend?
To refer a friend, you must enter your friend's email address in the Refer-a-Friend blank field on the registration form, home page, or ballot pages on SportsBallot.com. If you approve of the referral message posted on the screen, then click the 'Send Referral' button which will send the referral email to your friend. You can refer up to five friends at once.
How many tickets do I earn for successfully referring a friend to SportsBallot.com?
You receive 10 tickets for every friend that you refer to SportsBallot.com. In order to receive your 10 tickets, your referred friend must register with SportsBallot.com and type in the referral code listed on the referral email.
Can I receive 10 tickets for inviting a friend to join my group?
If you invite a friend to join your group, and this friend is not a registered member of SportsBallot.com, then you can receive 10 tickets if your friend registers and enters the referral code listed on the referral email. If you invite a friend to join your group, and your friend is already a registered member of SportsBallot.com, then you will not receive any additional referral tickets.


Prize Page Help

Where can I see the ballot prizes for a sports contest?
On the Prizes page, there is a section called Contest Prizes. Use the pull-down menu to select a ballot contest. You will then see the prizes associated with the selected contest. In addition to the best score prize on each ballot, there may also be overall season prizes for a contest, if stated on the contest prize page. The Overall National Prize will be awarded to the one participant, out of those participants on SportsBallot.com and all other contest sites operated by SportsBallot, who scores the most tickets for that contest season.
Where are the raffle drawings?
The raffle drawings are located on the main Prizes page.
How do I enter tickets into a raffle drawing?
On the Prizes page, you will see various raffle drawings. Each raffle will state how many tickets equal a raffle entry. For example, 5 Tickets = 1 Entry means that every five tickets you enter in the raffle will equal one entry in the raffle. Under each raffle prize is a blank field where you can type in the number of tickets that you want to enter into the raffle drawing. Then click the Submit button to officially enter your tickets into the selected raffle.
How can I see more about a raffle prize?
To see a more detailed description of a raffle prize, click on the actual prize picture. A pop-up window will give a detailed description of the raffle prize.
When does a raffle close?
The raffle close date and time is listed below each raffle prize.
How is a raffle winner chosen?
A raffle winner is chosen through a random computerized drawing of all eligible raffle ticket entries. The more tickets you have entered in a raffle, the better chance you have of winning the raffle prize.
What happens to my tickets when I enter them into a raffle?
Once you have entered tickets into a raffle drawing, those entered tickets have been permanently spent. Whether you win or lose the raffle prize, the tickets you entered into the raffle drawing have been spent and you will not get those tickets back
How do I see the latest winners?
To see the latest raffle winners, go to the Winners page. There is a link to the Winners page on the home page and from the Prizes page. To see ballot winners, go to the Winners page and use the pull-down menu at the top of the page to select a contest.


Group Play Help

What is a group?
A group is formed by one or more people. People use groups to compete against one another for bragging rights. A group can be created for every contest offered on SportsBallot.com. SportsBallot.com will do all the scoring for the group. You can choose to form a public or private group. If you form a private group, you must choose a password for the group.
How do I create a group?
To create a group, go to the Group Play page. Then click on the ‘Create a Group’ button. After creating a new group, you will be able to invite your friends to join your group.
How do I edit a group?
If you are the administrator of a group, you can edit the group by clicking on the 'edit' button which is located on your specific group play page.
How do I join a group?
There are a few ways to join a group. First, you can go to the Group Play page and use the ‘Join a Group’ pull-down menu to find the sport you are interested in. Then you can scroll down the page and join any of the public groups listed. If you want to join a private group, you must have the group’s password in order to join. A ‘join’ button is listed next to all the groups.
What is the difference between a public or private group?
A public group is open to anyone who is a registered member of SportsBallot.com. A private group is only open to SportsBallot.com members who have been given the special password to enter the group.
How do I leave a group?
You can leave a group by clicking on the ‘leave’ button which is next to your name on the specific group play page.
Do groups compete for different prizes?
Groups do not compete for different prizes. Whether you are in a group or not, everyone competes for the same Perfect Ballot prizes and Raffle prizes.
How do I invite friends to join my group?
To invite friends to your group, click on the ‘invite a friend’ button on your specific group page. A page will load allowing you to enter the name and email of 5 friends. Click ‘send emails’ and your friends will receive an email telling them your group name and password (if applicable), and a link to take them directly to join your group.
What is my identity in a group?
Your identity in a group is your nickname. You choose a nickname to be used in the group when you join or create a group.
How do I post a message to my group?
Every group has its own message board. Type in a message in the ‘Message Board’ blank field and then click submit. Your message will be added to the top of the message board list.


Leaderboard Help

How does the leaderboard work?
The leaderboard lists the top 100 leaders per contest. The leaderboard ranks participants based on 'Total Tickets' earned throughout the contest season. Go to the Leaderboard page and use the pull-down menu to choose the contest leaderboard you are interested in viewing. You can search for your ranking or another person's ranking by entering a name into the blank search field on the Leaderboard page.
What is the difference bewteen the National and Local leaderboards?
The National leaderboard shows the ranking of all SportsBallot participants nationally. SportsBallot national participants include those people who play on all contest sites operated by SportsBallot. The Local leaderboard shows the ranking of just SportsBallot.com participants.
Does each contest have its own leaderboard?
Yes, each contest has its own leaderboard based on ‘Total Tickets’ earned throughout the season.
How am I identified in the leaderboard?
You are identified on the leaderboard by your Username and your First Name, Last Initial.


Technical Help

How do I contact a SportsBallot.com representative?
First, use the FAQs to try to find the answer to any of your questions. If you still need assistance, please send an email to support@sportsballot.com.
I'm having trouble submitting my ballot. What should I do?
On the ballot submit page, there should appear a Flash timer at the top of the page. The timer must countdown to zero in order for your ballot to submit. If you do not see the timer at the top of the ballot submit page, please click the refresh button on your browser window. If this still does not load the Flash timer, then you probably need to download and install Macromedia Flash Player.
How can I get the Macromedia Flash Player?
Download and install Flash Player from the Macromedia Flash Player Download Center.
How can I make SportsBallot.com load faster?
SportsBallot.com is a bandwidth intensive site. It is viewed best with a broadband connection.
What browser do I need?
SportsBallot.com is best viewed with Internet Explorer 5 and above. You can download it from Microsoft's IE Website.
Why can't I see the navigation bar?
You must have Macromedia Flash 6 or above installed to view it.
What is Macromedia Flash?
Macromedia Flash Player is the client for rich web experiences across multiple platforms. With Macromedia Flash Player, web users worldwide can view and interact with content developed in Macromedia Flash. For answers to the most frequently-asked questions about Macromedia Flash Player, please refer to Macromedia Flash Player FAQ.
Why does SportsBallot.com use Flash?
It allows SportsBallot.com to use the most efficient web graphic and animation procedure with little use of bandwidth. This means you get more of the Web site with a smaller download.
Why does a dialog box pop up when I come to the site and ask me to download Flash?
SportsBallot.com will detect if you have the correct version of Flash installed. If you do not, a box will pop up and prompt you to install it. A description of this box is below.

If a Web site uses Macromedia Flash content, the Macromedia Flash Player is required to view that site. A message asking you to download Macromedia Flash Player then comes from either the Web site you are viewing or from your browser.

Most browsers come installed with Macromedia Flash Player, so you may already have a previous version of Macromedia Flash Player installed. You may still need to update to the latest version if the Web site contains features that require a newer version. For best results, download and install the latest version from Macromedia Flash Player Download Center.
What do the security warnings mean that I get when I download Macromedia Flash Player?
When you attempt to download and install any ActiveX control in Microsoft Windows, you're often presented with a dialog box that asks if you would like to install the ActiveX control in question. One such ActiveX control is Macromedia Flash Player, which enables Internet Explorer to display Macromedia Flash content. The installation of ActiveX controls takes place without you ever leaving your web browser. The security dialog box is presented to allow you to decide whether to install the ActiveX control and to inform you who created the control.
How do I fix almost all Macromedia Flash Player issues?
View Macromedia's current technote.
How do I print my PDF HOOPS HYSTERIA bracket?
To download and print your PDF bracket, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or higher installed on your computer. You can download the latest Acrobat Reader from Adobe's Website here.
What is PDF?
PDF stands for Portable Document Format. The PDF format is modeled after the PostScript language and is device and resolution independent. Your bracket in the PDF format can be viewed, navigated and printed from a workstation using the freely available Acrobat Reader software from Adobe Systems Inc. Download Acrobat Reader here.