Stop Participants From Starting the Draw Early: Organizer-Only Account Lock

"Someone started the draw before everyone joined." "A participant changed the settings while I wasn't looking." When you're running a lottery with a large group, these accidental edits are surprisingly common. And once the draw starts, getting back to where you were is a hassle.

Events created on Amida-san's Organizer Plan (Pro) come with a built-in safeguard: by default, only the organizer can edit settings or start the draw. This article explains how that prevents misclicks at the structural level.

The trap of "anyone can start the draw"

In online lotteries, participants often share the same screen and the organizer's authority is implicit. That ambiguity is where trouble starts.

Common misclicks

• A participant starts the draw before everyone arrives
• A participant changes the prize list or the labels
• "Please don't press the start button" gets pressed anyway
• The organizer forgets to set a lock, and shares the URL wide open

Once it starts, rolling back is painful

If the draw starts before everyone is ready, latecomers miss it, or the result comes from a misconfigured event. Recovering means redoing the setup and reshare -- not a great use of anyone's time.

How Amida-san's account lock works

On the Organizer Plan (Pro), events you create are automatically protected so that only the organizer can edit and start the draw.

On by default, so you can't forget

The lock is on by default and there is no UI to turn it off. You don't have to remember to set anything per event, so "I forgot to lock it" never happens. Participants can still enter their name and add horizontal lines, but they cannot start the draw or change settings.

The organizer controls the timing

The organizer confirms that everyone is ready, then starts the draw. No participant can jump the gun.

Situation	Without a lock	Amida-san account lock
Starting the draw	Anyone can press	Organizer only
Changing settings	Participants can edit	Organizer only
Locking the event	Manual every time	On by default

Where this helps the most

Large internal events

In company events, more participants means more chances for someone to start the draw early. With the lock in place, the host runs the event with confidence.

Schools and classrooms

For school lotteries where students operate the screen, only the teacher can start or change settings -- so the flow of the activity stays predictable.

Hybrid and remote meetings

For hybrid decision making where in-person and remote attendees mix, the organizer keeps unified control over the pace of the draw.

Frequently asked questions

Q1: Is account lock available on the free plan?

The organizer-only edit and start lock is part of the Organizer Plan (Pro). It applies by default to events you create on Pro.

Q2: What can participants still do?

Participants can enter their name and add horizontal lines. These actions are what make Amida-san's fairness model work -- the draw is built collaboratively. Participants cannot start the draw or change event settings.

Q3: How is this different from participation restrictions?

Participation restrictions control who can join. Account lock controls who can operate the event. They work well together.

Q4: How much does it cost?

The Organizer Plan (Pro) is $39 / month or $390 / year (annual saves about 2 months). Account lock comes bundled with re-draws, participation restrictions, and more.

Run a clean event with the Organizer Plan (Pro)

The organizer-only account lock lives in Amida-san's Organizer Plan (Pro). For $39 / month (or $390 / year -- about 2 months saved), you get account lock, re-draw, participation restrictions, unlimited result downloads, and the rest of the organizer toolkit. If you want events that just don't get hijacked by accident, give it a try.

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Want to see everything the Organizer Plan (Pro) offers in one place? Take a look at every Organizer Plan (Pro) feature, explained.

Other Pro Plan features

The Organizer Plan (Pro) bundles a full set of tools for running lotteries inside an organization. The following articles cover each feature in detail.

• Decorate your event page (event decoration)
• How to redraw a lottery (redraw + history)
• Members-only lottery (participation restriction)
• Save lottery results to CSV / Excel (unlimited downloads)
• Amida3D animation effect (unlimited Amida3D)
• Cancel a mistakenly created event (suspend / restore)
• Remove or edit lottery participants
• Ad-free lottery (no ads for participants)
• 365-day long-term storage (extended availability)
• Issue a receipt (for corporate / expense reports)

All of these are included in the Organizer Plan (Pro) at $39 / month or $390 / year.