Sweepstakes Official Rules

A Sweepstakes Official Rules document is used by a person or business, known as the sponsor, who is running a sweepstakes to lay out the terms and conditions of the contest.

Hosting a contest can be a great way to generate advertising and promote a business or product. Especially in the age of social media, a random drawing contest can be a quick but effective way to increase the visibility of promotions. However, it is important that the contest have clear and comprehensive rules so that it is fair and people's expectations are controlled. Unfortunately, many sponsors do not realize that unless contest giveaways are structured correctly, they may be considered an illegal lottery, opening up the sponsor to serious liability.

The sponsor is responsible for creating and publishing these rules, as they determine how a qualified entry is defined and other important rules about eligibility. The sponsor can use this document to create the rules. It outlines all of the eligibility criteria for participating in the contest, explains how to enter, and discusses other vital aspects of the process.

This document should only be used for a contest or sweepstakes where the winners will be chosen by random chance, rather than a contest where the winner is chosen based on their skills. Unlike sweepstakes, which select winners totally by chance, skills contests require winners to exhibit ability in a "bona fide skill" which is judged by an independent third party using predetermined criteria. This is an important distinction because the laws regulating skills contests and sweepstakes are different. In addition, any overlap between the two could be classified as an illegal gambling operation.

How to use this document

This document lays out all of the important information the sponsor of sweepstakes must communicate about the rules and how the contest will be run, including the following details:

• Information about who is sponsoring the sweepstakes, such as the name of the person or company and their contact address
• A description of who is eligible to enter the sweepstakes, including the age, geographic location, and relationship to the sponsor such as their immediate family or employees of the entrants
• Definition of the entry period, including the start and end dates and times, limiting when the sponsor will accept entries
• Explanation of all the methods entrants can use to submit their entries into the sweepstakes, such as mail, online, text message, or in-person entries
• Disclaimer that no purchase is necessary to enter the sweepstakes, since requiring purchase would create an illegal lottery operation
• Information about the prizes winners will receive, their estimated retail value, and when the sponsor will notify the winners
• Limitation of the sponsor's liability and the acknowledgment that entrants agree to abide by the rules of the sweepstakes and the sponsor's privacy policy guidelines if they choose to enter

Once the rules have been completed, the sponsor can begin their contest and make these rules public so that all entrants have notice of how the sweepstakes will run.

Applicable law

In the United States, different federal laws and regulations affect what is and is not permitted with sweepstakes. In addition, multiple federal agencies regulate sweepstakes and contests in the U.S. including the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the IRS, and the United States Postal Service (when the sweepstakes include a mail component). There are also different laws from state to state, some being more vigorous than others, governing how sweepstakes must be conducted in their state.

How to modify the template

You fill out a form. The document is created before your eyes as you respond to the questions.

At the end, you receive it in Word and PDF formats. You can modify it and reuse it.