⏱️ Quick answer: a prize wheel can sit next to your Google review request, on one condition: the game must be open to every customer, and the prize must never depend on leaving a review or on the rating given. Promising a gift "for a 5-star review" breaks Google's rules and can get your reviews removed.
Prize wheels have become a familiar sight on counters and restaurant tables: customers scan a QR code, spin, and leave with a coffee, a dessert or a small discount. Used well, it is a friendly reminder that their feedback matters. Used badly, it goes against Google's policies. Here is how to do it properly.
What Google says about reviews and incentives
- No incentives for reviews. Google does not allow businesses to offer money, discounts or gifts in exchange for reviews, let alone positive ones.
- No selective asking. You must not ask only happy customers for reviews, or discourage unhappy ones from posting.
Google can remove reviews it believes were obtained this way, and repeated cases can lead to restrictions on the listing. So the wheel must stay a game offered to customers, and the review request must stay a free request. Both can live on the same card, but one must never be the price of the other.
Note that the rule is about the link between the gift and the review, not about games as such. Loyalty cards, tastings or seasonal games are fine on their own; the problem starts when a reward is presented as payment for a review or for a good rating.
Allowed or not: concrete cases
| Situation | Verdict |
|---|---|
| "Try your luck on the wheel! And if you have a minute, a Google review really helps us." | OK |
| "Leave 5 stars and win a dessert" | Not allowed |
| "One review = one spin" | Avoid |
| Showing the wheel only to customers who look happy | Not allowed |
| Checking the review before handing over the prize | Not allowed |
| The same QR code on every table, for everyone | OK |
Wording you can copy
Table card: "Try your luck! Scan, spin the wheel and maybe win a free coffee. Your Google review also helps us a lot: thank you, whatever you write."
At the till: "There's a little game on the QR code if you want to try your luck. And if you have two minutes for a Google review, it really helps."
Avoid "in exchange for", "for a review", "5 stars", "good rating". Use "try your luck", "little game", "thanks for your review, whatever it says".
Setting up a wheel the right way
- Pick small, realistic prizes and a consolation prize so nobody leaves empty-handed.
- Set the odds so big prizes stay rare. Do the maths on a month of customers first.
- Set a validity period for codes to encourage a return visit.
- Limit how often the same person can play.
- Use neutral wording on every printed item.
- Place the QR code where people have time: tables, counter, bill, takeaway bag.
- Brief your team to offer the game to everyone, without picking.
- Reply to every review, positive or negative.
How the Voxtya wheel works
To be transparent, here is exactly what the wheel in the Review collection module does:
- The customer scans the QR code and enters their name and email.
- A button offers to open your Google review page; after a few seconds the "Spin" button unlocks.
- Nothing checks whether a review was posted, and the wheel never asks for a rating.
- The prize code is shown on screen and emailed to the customer.
- You choose the prizes, their odds, the code validity (30 days by default) and the delay between two plays from the same email.
- Print-ready materials come in 6 formats: A6, A5, square, table tent, DL and mini roll-up.
In other words, the wheel is built as a game open to everyone, with an invitation to review alongside it. It is up to you to keep your posters and what your team says consistent with that. For an overview, see our page on prize wheel marketing for restaurants.
Wheel, plain QR code or email?
You do not need a wheel. A plain QR code to your review page, placed where people have time and backed by one sentence from your team, already works. The wheel adds a playful reason to take out a phone. A follow-up email reaches customers who booked online. Combining the three works best, as long as nothing is ever conditional on the review.
Costly mistakes
Sorting customers
Offering the game only to smiling regulars, or steering unhappy customers away from Google, amounts to filtering reviews. An unhappy customer has every right to speak publicly; your job is to reply well. Our guide on responding to negative reviews helps.
Promising the prize "after the review"
Even if your tool checks nothing, a poster saying "leave a review, then spin" presents the gift as a reward. Talk about the game and the review separately.
Prizes that are too big
A free meal attracts people who will not come back and makes the game expensive. A small treat is enough to leave a good memory, and it keeps the focus on the experience rather than the prize.
Forgetting to reply
More reviews means more replies. The free AI review reply generator drafts one in your tone; you check it and paste it on Google.
Next step: the prize wheel is part of the Review collection module (€29/month excl. VAT, €23 billed yearly), with the QR code, printable materials and the email sent after each online booking. Try it for 30 days: see pricing.