Free PS5 Giveaway: How to Run a Legitimate One as a Gaming Creator

Linkme is not running a free PS5 giveaway. The old Linkme invite promotion that offered a console has ended, and Linkme doesn’t give away consoles for invites or anything else. If you’re a gaming creator planning your own free PS5 giveaway, this guide shows how to run it properly. That means official rules, a free way to enter and comment-to-enter with a keyword DM that sends each entrant the entry link, so followers can trust it and the platforms don’t take it down.

Linkme’s PS5 promotion has ended

Years ago, when Linkme was a different kind of app, it ran an invite promotion with consoles as prizes. That promotion is closed. There is no current Linkme offer of a PS5, other consoles, cash or prizes for invites. If someone sends you a link, DM or post claiming otherwise, don’t enter details or pay a “shipping fee.” Report the account to the platform.

Today Linkme is a social media platform for businesses, teams and creators. Among other things, it lets you run the comment-to-DM setup described below.

Before you start: the prize, the budget and who can enter

A console giveaway costs more than the console. Plan for:

• The prize itself, bought new, with a receipt you keep.
• Shipping and insurance to wherever the winner lives.
• Who can enter. Limiting entry to your own country and to adults keeps shipping, tax and legal questions simpler. Age and location limits go in the rules.
• Sponsor disclosure. If a brand supplies the prize, say so clearly in the post and in the rules.
• Trademarks. You can name the prize, but don’t use logos or wording that suggests the console maker is sponsoring your giveaway. A line saying the promotion isn’t sponsored by or affiliated with Sony avoids confusion.

Write official rules

Official rules protect you and show entrants the giveaway is real. Host them on a page you control and link them in every post. At minimum, cover:

1. Sponsor: your name or business name and a contact method.
2. Eligibility: minimum age, countries or states, and who is excluded, such as your moderators and family.
3. Entry period: start and end dates and times, with the time zone.
4. How to enter: the exact steps, including a free method.
5. No purchase necessary: a clear statement that buying something doesn’t increase the chance of winning.
6. Winner selection: a random draw, when it happens and how it’s done.
7. Prize: a description and its approximate retail value.
8. Notification: how and when you will contact the winner, how long they have to respond and what happens if they don’t.
9. Platform release: Instagram’s promotion guidelines require a full release of Instagram by each entrant and a statement that the promotion is not sponsored or administered by Instagram.
10. Taxes and privacy: who is responsible for any taxes on the prize, and what you’ll do with entrants’ data.

Sweepstakes law differs between countries and between US states. For an expensive prize or an international giveaway, have a lawyer review the rules.

Keep it free to enter

A giveaway where people must pay to enter can be treated as an illegal lottery in many places. So don’t make entry depend on:

• buying merch or a product
• a paid subscription on Twitch, Kick or YouTube
• a donation or tip

If paying members get bonus entries, offer the same number of entries through a free route. The simplest approach is one free entry per person, with no paid extras.

Following your account and commenting a keyword cost nothing. Don’t make people tag friends to enter, though. It fills your comments with spam, and Instagram’s guidelines prohibit encouraging people to tag content inaccurately.

Set up comment-to-enter with a keyword DM

Counting comments by hand doesn’t scale, and it gives you no way to check eligibility. A better setup is for people to comment a keyword, receive a DM with the entry link and fill in a short form. Your entries then come from the form.

Here’s how that works with Linkme DM automations on an Instagram business or creator account:

1. Choose the post. Select the giveaway post or Reel. Each post can belong to only one automation, so two automations never answer the same comment.
2. Set the keyword. Use something short and on theme, such as PS5 or an emoji. Emoji count as keywords.
3. Add public replies. Turn on replies to comments and write up to five variations of up to 300 characters, such as “Check your DMs for the entry link.” Rotating them keeps the thread from looking automated.
4. Write the DM. Keep it within Instagram’s 1000-byte limit, which includes the link. Add the entry link with a clear title, such as “Enter the giveaway.”
5. Set natural delays. Comment and DM reply delays can be set anywhere from 1 second to 15 minutes. Linkme advises 30 to 90 seconds.
6. Go live and watch results. Each automation shows activations, clicks and click-through rate.

A sample DM:

Thanks for commenting. Enter the PS5 giveaway with this form (one entry per person, ends Sunday 11:59 PM ET). Official rules are linked on the form. We will only contact the winner from this account.

The entry link can point to any page. On Linkme Plus and Pro, you can build the form on your Linkme page with name, email and custom text fields such as age and country, and the submissions are saved in your dashboard. The lead forms guide explains the setup. Add a consent checkbox, or a clear line on the form, if you’d also like to email entrants later.

One Instagram limitation matters here. A private reply to a comment carries one link and is sent once per comment, within 7 days of that comment. Turn the automation on before you announce the giveaway and leave it running until entries close, so nobody’s comment ages out before the DM goes. For more on setting up triggers and replies, see this guide to Instagram comment automation.

Pick and announce the winner

1. Close entries at the time stated in the rules.
2. Remove duplicate and ineligible entries, and keep a record of what you removed and why.
3. Draw the winner at random and record the draw, either on stream or as a screen recording.
4. Contact the winner from your official account only, using the method in your rules.
5. Confirm eligibility and the shipping address. Never ask for payment, card details or a login.
6. Announce the winner publicly once they agree, and post when the prize ships.

A public draw and a delivery update build trust for your next giveaway, and they make impersonators easier to spot.

Mistakes that make giveaways look like scams

• No rules, or rules that appear only after the giveaway ends
• Asking winners to “DM to claim” or to pay shipping
• Changing the end date or the prize partway through
• Requiring purchases, subscriptions or friend tags
• Announcing winners without any proof of a draw

Pin a post explaining how you contact winners, and report copycat accounts as soon as you see them.

Frequently asked questions

Is Linkme giving away a free PS5?

No. Linkme’s old invite promotion has ended, and Linkme doesn’t give away consoles. Any message offering a free PS5 from Linkme is not genuine.

Is it legal to run a PS5 giveaway on Instagram?

Generally yes, if you publish official rules, keep entry free and follow Instagram’s promotion guidelines, which include releasing Instagram from responsibility. Laws differ by country and US state, so check the rules for where your entrants live.

Can I require people to follow me to enter a giveaway?

Following is free, so many creators ask for it. Don’t require purchases, paid subscriptions or donations, and don’t ask people to tag friends inaccurately, which Instagram’s guidelines prohibit.

How do I send every entrant the entry link automatically?

Use a comment-to-DM automation. Pick the giveaway post, set a keyword, add a public reply and write a DM with the entry link. Linkme DM automations send it to every matching comment and count the clicks.