Part 1: Planning and Managing a Compliant Promotional Program
Start With the Objective and the Audience
An appealing prize can attract attention. It cannot compensate for a promotion whose rules, entry experience, and winner process disagree. These decisions need to be made together, before a campaign is advertised.
This guide explains the core decisions behind U.S. sweepstakes and skill-based contests, with Canadian requirements addressed where relevant. It is educational guidance, not a substitute for legal review of a particular program.
Define the objective first
Define what the program should accomplish before selecting an entry mechanic. A launch-awareness campaign may require broad reach and a simple entry process, while a campaign seeking product insights may justify a more involved submission process. The effort required to enter should be proportionate to the prize and the campaign objective. More involved submissions, such as original content or detailed feedback, may produce stronger material but will generally reduce participation.
Identify the intended entrants, eligible jurisdictions, minimum age, prize budget, promotional channels, program timeline, and the data to be used to measure success. If building a contact list for future marketing is one of the objectives, include a separate, optional consent mechanism that complies with applicable law. Entry into the promotion does not constitute consent to receive marketing communications.
Bring RAVEN5 in early
The client’s marketing team and agency of record usually lead the brand objectives, messaging, and creative direction. Bring RAVEN5 into the planning stage to confirm whether the proposed mechanic, prize, geography, platform, and timeline can work together. An early feasibility check is especially useful if the program involves multiple countries, purchase-based entries, user-generated content, or regulated products or industries, such as alcohol, cannabis, financial services, or sports betting. The legal classification of a promotion depends on its complete structure and may vary by jurisdiction.
Choose the Mechanic by the Method of Winner Selection
The mechanic is defined by how winners are selected: by chance, by skill, or by a combination of both. Each carries its own requirements.
| Format | How a winner is chosen | Key considerations |
|---|---|---|
| Sweepstakes, giveaway, game of chance | By chance, such as a documented random draw or instant-win allocation | Provide a free method of entry where required and ensure it offers a genuine opportunity to participate. Clearly define eligibility, entry methods and limits, prize details, odds, drawing procedures, winner verification and notification. Confirm whether registration, bonding, tax reporting or other jurisdiction-specific requirements apply. |
| Skill-based contest | Judging against stated skill criteria | Set clear judging criteria, judging procedures, tie-breakers, and disclosures. Address submission requirements, intellectual property rights, content restrictions, releases, and any jurisdictional restrictions on entry fees. |
| Hybrid | More than one selection stage or mechanic | Map each stage separately and explain how entrants advance, whether entries carry forward and how final winners are selected. Apply the appropriate chance-based or skill-based requirements to each stage. In most jurisdictions, if there is any element of chance involved in the selection of winners, the promotion will be classified as a game of chance. |
| Prohibited: illegal lottery structure | A promotion that combines all three elements: a prize, chance-based winner selection and required consideration | Identify whether prize, chance and required consideration are all present. If they are, the promotion must be restructured before launch. |
Prize, chance and consideration
In the United States and Canada, a promotion that combines a prize, chance, and consideration generally constitutes an illegal lottery. Consideration is not limited to a purchase price and may include other forms of monetary or non-monetary value, depending on the entry requirements and applicable law.
The free alternate method of entry
A chance-based promotion that awards entries through purchases must also provide a free alternate method of entry (an “AMOE”) that offers equal opportunity and odds; purchasing should not yield extra entries or a better chance to win. Advertising should clearly and conspicuously state that no purchase is necessary, disclose material eligibility and entry restrictions, and direct potential entrants to the full Official Rules with the free entry instructions.
For a genuinely skill-based contest, a fee or purchase may be permitted in some jurisdictions, but the structure requires program-specific legal review.
Set the Geographic Footprint Before the Launch Date
Eligibility is a compliance decision. Specify eligible states and provinces, residency, age, employee and agency exclusions, entry limits, and whether a prize can be delivered to or awarded in each market. The jurisdictions included in the promotion will determine the applicable rules, language and translation requirements, registration and bonding obligations, tax reporting requirements, prize restrictions and advertising limitations.
U.S. filing triggers to assess early
For chance-based promotions open throughout the United States, assess the filing requirements in New York, Florida and Rhode Island early in the planning process:
| Jurisdiction | Common trigger and pre-launch requirement | After the promotion |
|---|---|---|
| New York | Required where the promotion is open to residents of New York and offers a total prize value of $5,000 USD or more. Register the promotion and obtain a surety bond at least 30 days before launch. | File a list of the winners within 90 days after completion. |
| Florida | Required where the promotion is open to residents of Florida and offers a total prize value of $5,000 USD or more. Register the promotion and obtain a surety bond at least 30 days before launch. | File a list of the winners within 90 days after completion. |
| Rhode Island | Required for an in-store, chance-based promotion offered at a participating Rhode Island retail location when the total prize value exceeds $500. Register at least 7 days before launch, pay the filing fee, and post the rules and prize information at the participating location. If the sponsor has no participating retail location in Rhode Island, this filing requirement generally does not apply. | Post the winners’ names and addresses at each participating Rhode Island retail location and retain the winners list for at least 1 year. |
These are the most common state filing triggers, but they are not exhaustive. The applicable registration, bonding and post-promotion requirements can be determined once the eligibility, entry method, prize structure and launch date are known.
Plan for Canadian Requirements
Promotions open to Canadian residents require Canadian-specific rules and disclosures.
Canada’s Competition Act requires adequate and fair disclosure of the number and approximate value of prizes, any regional allocation of prizes, and any fact that materially affects the chances of winning.
The Criminal Code separately restricts lotteries and games of chance. Canadian chance-based promotions are generally structured with a no-purchase method of entry and a mathematical skill-testing question. The free entry method addresses consideration, while the skill-testing question addresses chance. They serve different purposes, and one does not replace the other.
Quebec
If Quebec residents are eligible, plan for applicable French-language requirements at the beginning of the project, including the Official Rules, entry materials and promotional copy. A U.S. rules template cannot be adapted for Canada simply by changing the eligibility provision.
Handle Entrant Data for the Purpose Disclosed
Collect only the information needed to administer and measure the program, and explain in the Official Rules how it will be used and shared. Separate agreement to the Official Rules from optional marketing consent where required.
Document how entrant data moves between the Sponsor, Administrator, entry platform, and any email, analytics, moderation, or fulfillment providers, including who may access it. Set retention and secure deletion periods for entrant and winner records that account for legal obligations and the Sponsor’s privacy policy.
Which privacy laws apply
Before launch, determine which privacy laws apply based on the Sponsor, eligible jurisdictions, information collected, and intended uses. For U.S. residents, assess applicable state privacy requirements, including notice, consumer-rights requests, sensitive information, and vendor sharing. In Canada, PIPEDA and applicable provincial private-sector laws may govern the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information. CASL separately governs commercial electronic messages.
Information collected to administer the promotion should not automatically be used for marketing; obtain separate consent where required.
Align the Rules and the Entry Experience
Official Rules must describe the promotion people actually enter. Define the Sponsor, Administrator, eligibility, start and end times with time zone, entry methods and limits, prize quantities and approximate retail value (ARV), winner selection, verification, notification, deadlines, material prize restrictions, and where the Official Rules will be available.
One promotion, everywhere
Ensure every short-form disclosure in emails, advertisements, social posts, in-store materials and creator content is consistent with the Official Rules and includes the material terms required for that placement. Entry instructions, dates, eligibility statements, prize descriptions and limits must match across every consumer-facing touchpoint. The free-entry route must be reasonably accessible, function as described and be administered consistently with the Official Rules, not merely exist on paper.
Build and test the entry page
Build the entry page around those requirements. Test it on desktop and mobile, including accessibility, field validation, confirmation messages and error states. Collect only the information required to administer and measure the program. Confirm the Official Rules and privacy links, consent checkboxes, duplicate-entry handling, data capture and transfer, and traffic capacity before launch.
If entrants submit photos, videos, or other content, define the submission requirements, moderation process, how the Sponsor may use the submitted content, and whether and when submissions will become public. If social media is part of the entry mechanic, confirm that the promotion and entry process comply with the applicable platform rules.
Measurement belongs in the build
Tags and pixels are not automatic. Track events that answer defined program questions. Before tracking goes live, confirm the required notices, permissions, sensitive-data exclusions, vendor terms, and privacy controls.
Keep Entry Review Consistent and Defensible
Define what constitutes a valid entry in the rules and apply those standards consistently. Document how the team will address duplicate submissions, bots, ineligible entrants, incomplete forms, and content that fails to meet the stated submission criteria. Keep an audit trail of exclusions and moderation decisions, including the reasoning for each decision.
Keep the records
For a skill-based contest where submitted content is judged, document the criteria, weighting/scoring, judges, and tie-breakers in advance and retain the completed score sheet.
For a chance-based sweepstakes, retain a record of the draw or instant-win allocation method, eligible entry pool, date and results.
Fraud controls without friction
Fraud controls should protect the promotion without making valid entry unnecessarily difficult. Apply the requirements and standards established before launch. Introducing a new filter or disqualification standard that changes who qualifies after the campaign starts may unfairly invalidate entries and create disputes. Escalate other situations not clearly addressed by the Official Rules for legal and operational review before taking action.
Verify Winners and Fulfill Prizes
Select potential winners in accordance with the Official Rules. Before announcing a winner, confirm their eligibility, compliance with the entry requirements and obtain any required verification documents, such as release forms and tax forms. Follow the deadlines and alternate-winner procedures stated in the Official Rules.
Tax, publicity and filings
For U.S. prizes, confirm any applicable tax-reporting requirements before fulfillment, identify the party responsible for reporting, and collect the required documentation from the winner.
Confirm that the Official Rules and winner release authorize any planned use of a winner’s name, image, likeness, or story. Separately, complete any winner-list publication or filing required by applicable law.
Fulfillment
Plan prize fulfillment as part of prize selection and before launch. Confirm prize availability, fulfillment responsibilities, delivery locations, carrier restrictions, timelines, substitution rights, and proof-of-delivery requirements. Fulfill prizes as described in the Official Rules, and review any proposed delay, substitution, or other deviation before proceeding.
At close-out, retain winner-verification and fulfillment records and complete any required post-promotion filings, winner-list obligations, and final reporting.
Close the Program and Improve the Next One
At close-out, confirm that prizes have been fulfilled, required filings and winner lists have been completed, and program records have been retained appropriately.
The final report should distinguish total entries from valid entries, measure results against the program’s objectives, and identify any issues with the entry process, fraud controls, moderation, winner administration, or fulfillment. Use those findings to improve the structure and execution of future sweepstakes or contests.
RAVEN5 helps clients and their agency partners plan and execute effective, compliant promotions. Our services include program design, legal compliance, custom platform development, winner administration, prize fulfillment, regulatory filings, and reporting. Visit raven5.com/ to learn more.
2026 Sweepstakes Guidelines overview | Part 2: Contest Amplification: 2026 Edition →