How the spin works, and why it is fair
Here is the honest mechanism, because most spinner pages never explain it. When you press Spin, the tool asks the browser cryptographic random number generator for a value and uses it to pick the winning slice. Only then does the animation start, and the rotation is calculated to land the pointer on that already-chosen slice after about 4.6 seconds and five to seven full turns.
That order matters. The wheel is not a simulation with friction where the result emerges from the physics, because a physics simulation is exactly where subtle bias creeps in. The draw is a single uniform selection across the slices, and the spin is the part that makes it feel like a draw.
Every name gets one slice, all slices are the same size, and the selection is uniform across them, so with six names each has a one-in-six chance every time. Past results have no effect on the next spin: a name that just won is exactly as likely to win again, which is what independent draws mean.
- The winner is chosen before the animation begins
- Selection uses the browser cryptographic random source, not a physics model
- Every slice is equal size and every spin is independent
Using it for a real draw
Paste your names one per line into the box, up to 100 of them. Two is the minimum. The wheel redraws as you edit, so you can see the slices before you commit. Names are drawn on the wheel itself, so with a long list the labels get small, which is worth thinking about if you are sharing a screen.
After a spin the winner is announced and added to a running list of previous winners for the session. A Remove winner and spin again button deletes that name from the list and clears the result, which is the flow you want for drawing several prizes or picking teams: spin, remove, spin again, and nobody can win twice.
If you want a name to be able to win more than once, just do not press the remove button. The list is unchanged between spins otherwise.
- Paste names one per line, 2 to 100
- Press Spin and wait for the wheel to settle
- Press Remove winner and spin again to draw the next one
What it does not do
There are no weights. Every entry gets exactly one equal slice, so you cannot give one name a larger share of the wheel. The workaround is to enter that name on several lines, which gives it that many slices and that many chances.
Lists are not saved. Nothing is written to your account or to a link, so closing the tab loses the names and the winner history. Keep the list in a note or a spreadsheet and paste it in when you need it. There is also no sound, no confetti, no team splitting, and no way to import names from a file.
The list itself stays in your browser: the names are never sent anywhere. The page does make one small request when you spin, carrying the tool name only for a usage counter, so a spin will not start if the page cannot reach the network.