A giveaway at your social media or website is a great way to attract interest and participation from your readers, but they can inadvertently cause you to violate a law. Sweepstakes require you employ the rules of chance, without special consideration for anyone person or group. Contests require some measure of merit, however small, but must eliminate the element of chance. Lotteries require a "consideration" given or paid by entrants, and are prohibited in some states.
Asking participants to seek and find an item on a website, or give information about their preferences or identity could be considered a "consideration", the same as buying a lottery ticket could. So your "contest" or "sweepstake" could innocently become an illegal lottery. This Social Media Examiner article offers a checklist of items to include in your contest or giveaway rules to avoid some legal pitfalls. Some are "no purchase necessary", number of prizes and how winners will be selected, dates, geographic areas or other limitations. Read more.....
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