https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/nov/20/its-such-a-rush-the-secret-lives-of-compers [p] Skip to main contentSkip to navigation Advertisement Print subscriptions Sign in Search jobs Search US edition[ ] * US edition * UK edition * Australia edition * International edition The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian [ ] * News * Opinion * Sport * Culture * Lifestyle ShowMoreShow More * [ ]News + View all News + US news + World news + Environment + Soccer + US politics + Business + Tech + Science + Newsletters + Fight to vote * [ ]Opinion + View all Opinion + The Guardian view + Columnists + Letters + Opinion videos + Cartoons * [ ]Sport + View all Sport + Soccer + NFL + Tennis + MLB + MLS + NBA + NHL + F1 * [ ]Culture + View all Culture + Film + Books + Music + Art & design + TV & radio + Stage + Classical + Games * [ ]Lifestyle + View all Lifestyle + Fashion + Food + Recipes + Love & sex + Home & garden + Health & fitness + Family + Travel + Money * Search input [ ] google-search Search + Support us + Print subscriptions * [ ]US edition + UK edition + Australia edition + International edition + Europe edition * + Search jobs + Digital Archive + Guardian Puzzles app + Guardian content licensing site + The Guardian app + Video + Podcasts + Pictures + Inside the Guardian + Guardian Weekly + Crosswords + Corrections * + Facebook + Twitter * + Search jobs + Digital Archive + Guardian Puzzles app + Guardian content licensing site * Fashion * Food * Recipes * Love & sex * Home & garden * Health & fitness * Family * Travel * Money Australian lifestyle 'It's such a rush': the secret lives of compers An illustration of a woman driving in a car filled with purchases and save receipts [ ] Compers are strategic in how they enter competitions. They know which will attract fewer entrants and therefore come with better odds; as well as those to avoid. Illustration: Katherine Chadwick/The Guardian Compers are strategic in how they enter competitions. They know which will attract fewer entrants and therefore come with better odds; as well as those to avoid. Illustration: Katherine Chadwick/The Guardian For those who frequently enter promotional competitions, the emotional rewards resemble those of gambling * Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email Cynthia Sear Sat 19 Nov 2022 14.00 ESTLast modified on Sat 19 Nov 2022 14.02 EST * * * Bella*, a Melburnian in her late 50s, is driving me between shopping centres. We're on a "comp shop", an expedition bouncing from store to store to buy products that are part of promotional competitions. As she steers around a corner, bottles of wine clang together in the boot and a slab of beer shuffles along the backseat. Despite the fact that Bella doesn't drink alcohol, her car has become a "bit of a hiding spot" from her family for the products she buys to enter competitions. Bella's daughter thinks comping is "like gambling". "Tell you what though, she loved the trip to Italy!" Bella is one of more than 90 avid "compers" - serial entrants of promotional competitions - who have taken part in my doctoral research, an ethnographic study of comping communities in Australia and the UK. Get lucky: meet the competition addicts raking in thousands Read more Promotional competitions are everywhere - you'll find "buy to win" offers online and instore, at supermarkets, department stores, convenience shops and chemists. There is also an ecosystem of websites, forums and Facebook groups built around cataloguing competitions and discussing which to enter. It is perhaps unsurprising that the majority of compers are the primary shopper for their household, and female. Like Bella winning a trip to Italy, most compers I spoke to had celebrated at least one so-called "major win" (a holiday, a car or a big cash prize) and multiple "little wins" (products and gift cards). Diane, for example, is in her 30s and is the mother of two young boys. She began comping after meeting Jo at her local mother's group on Victoria's eastern coast. Jo had won a trip to New York, among other smaller wins, and the two quickly became friends, finding and entering competitions together. Diane's first major win was an all-expenses-paid trip to Golden Door, a wellness resort in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. * Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning During one of our coffee dates Diane described weighing up whether to spend more than $100 on a cologne that would count as an entry into a competition to win a luxury holiday. She explained that because the contest was aimed at men, who tend to enter fewer competitions than women, and due to the high price point, "it won't have many entries". Plus, she rationalised: "I could gift the cologne to my husband for Christmas." It's an addiction and it attracts people with addictive personalities Bella Compers like Diane and Bella are strategic in how they enter competitions. They know which will attract fewer entrants and therefore come with better odds; as well as those to avoid, else become another number on a scam caller's list. Often compers prefer a particular type of competition. Some like entering games of skill which require a creative response to a question or challenge (for instance: "in 25 words or less describe why you deserve a trip to Thailand") while others prefer games of chance (buy this product and keep your receipt to enter). While the prizes are comping's obvious drawcard, compers also describe the emotional payoffs. "You never forget a win, where you were, what you were doing ... it's such a rush," Bella says. She also says: "You never know what's coming around the corner." Diane says this sense of potential lifted her from "a rut" she found herself in during maternity leave. She recommends comping to her female friends who might be entering a rut themselves. As one UK comper put it: "Many people buy a lottery ticket and hope for a positive outcome. Compers may do that [too] but look for other opportunities to gain some treats and extras. You don't know on a daily basis when you might receive a phone call, text, email, letter or surprise parcel and that adds excitement to everyday life." Comping can also become a compulsion. Bella explains: "It's an addiction and it attracts people with addictive personalities." Indeed, two compers I spoke to began comping in ultimately successful attempts to overcome gambling addictions. One said it gave her the same "thrills" as gambling but "without the debt". Comping takes time and, when a product purchase is required, money. While most compers justify such expenditure, some feel uneasy about the way the activity can hold their attention. Edith, for example, who is in her 60s and lives in Melbourne's suburbs, told me comping coincided with a period when she spent a lot of time and lost considerable money playing slot machines.She believed comping inspired her to play the slot machines and vice versa. Both activities kept her focused on the possibility of the win, the "thrill of the chase". Sign up to Saved for Later Free weekly newsletter Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. "We are inconsistent about what we think constitutes gambling as well as which kinds are helpful or harmful," the British anthropologist Rebecca Cassidy wrote after attendees at a community raffle told her they were surprised she was there to study gambling. I regret to inform you I have quit my job to chase my dreams | Jack Vening Read more The way we think about gambling and promotional competitions has changed considerably over the last 150 years. In Victorian and Edwardian England, when lotteries were outlawed, promotional competitions could be deemed "disguised lotteries" and some organisers faced persecution accordingly. UK advertisers have only been legally able to offer game of chancecompetitions, for which entry requires a "qualifier" or product purchase, since 2007. In Australia, these competitions have been legal for decades, although organisers may need a permit. Today gambling is so normalised in both countries - through betting apps, websites, television commercials, billboards, betting stores and slot machines - that a "chance to win" sticker at the supermarket seems quaint and playful. But whether it's buying a specially marked chocolate bar or spending an evening at the casino, all these phenomena hold our attention by giving us "thrills": experiences of anticipation and potentiality. So, if comping feels a bit like gambling, that's because it kind of is. *All research participants' names have been changed * Some of the examples and ideas in this article are derived from an article in the journal Ethnos. Cynthia Sear is a researcher and PhD candidate in anthropology at the University of Melbourne where she is a recipient of an Australian government research training program scholarship. She thanks Prof Andrew Dawson for his advice on this article Topics * Australian lifestyle * Women * Gambling * features * * * * * * Reuse this content Most viewed Most viewed * Fashion * Food * Recipes * Love & sex * Home & garden * Health & fitness * Family * Travel * Money * News * Opinion * Sport * Culture * Lifestyle Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning Sign up for our email * About us * Contact us * Complaints & corrections * SecureDrop * Work for us * Privacy policy * Cookie policy * Terms & conditions * Help * All topics * All writers * Digital newspaper archive * Facebook * YouTube * Instagram * LinkedIn * Twitter * Newsletters * Advertise with us * Guardian Labs * Search jobs Back to top (c) 2022 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. (modern)