Legality of the proposed offering
Question presented
Whether Client’s proposed sweepstakes promotion, offered through a mobile application with a no-purchase alternate method of entry, may be conducted in each of the fifty states without additional state-specific licensure.
Short answer
— section absent —State-by-state
California — permitted; bonding required over $5,000 in prizes. New York — permitted; registration required over $5,000. Florida — permitted, no filing. Texas — permitted. Nine jurisdictions are not addressed below.
Authorities
15 U.S.C. § 45 — unfair or deceptive acts and practices. Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17539–17539.15 — contest and sweepstakes disclosures. N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 369-e — prize notification.
Analysis
Because entry does not require payment or the purchase of a product, and a bona fide free method of entry is offered on equal footing, the promotion most likely falls outside the statutory definition of a lottery in the jurisdictions reviewed above.