06-02-2006, 12:19 PM
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#1 |
Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Louisiana |  Running an online contest, the law.
| I found this really great write up on google answers here, so I'm just going to post snipits of it here:
These are not all the laws for running a contest, but gives you a starting point.
For the USA only Quote:
...forum registration is free,
so essentially, you're good to go. What makes a drawing or
contest illegal in most states is when it costs money to
enter, which can include the purchase of a product. It then
becomes a lottery, which is illegal in Tennessee and other
states, and very regulated in all states.
| Quote:
....as long as you're not charging
for registration, and participation is free. You still need to post
Rules for the drawing, and I've found some sites with posted Rules
which, by their similarities, should give you some good ideas for
what is required and useful. These are Tennessee sites:
A sweepstakes on bamah.com:
http://www.bamah.com/timmcgraw/llywd/nr/rules.cfm
A sweepstakes on tunecom.com:
http://www.tunecom.com/tk/rules.htm | Quote:
SWEEPSTAKES AND SKILL CONTESTS — THE BASICS, by Julia C. Archer, of
Enns & Archer LLP, a legal firm specializing in "the law of branded
products", who covers the essential inclusions in your Sweepstakes
Rules:
- No purchase necessary.
- The alternative method of free participation.
- Complete name and address of the sponsor and promoter of the
contest.
- Number of prizes, the accurate description of each prize, the
retail value of each prize, and the odds of winning each type
of prize. (In many cases the odds will depend on the number of
eligible entries received, however, if a particular number of
entry forms, direct mail pieces, or similar items will be
distributed, the odds should be stated according to that number.)
- Geographic area of the sweepstakes and/or who is eligible to
participate in the sweepstakes.
- Opening date and scheduled termination date of the sweepstakes.
- Whether all prizes offered will be awarded, and how the prizes
will be awarded.
- Manner of selection of winners, and when a determination of
winners will be made.
- Where and when a list of winners can be obtained.
http://www.ennsandarcher.com/s_basics.html |
Last edited by Rex; 06-02-2006 at 12:27 PM.
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