Part 3: Sweepstakes and Contest Do’s and Don’ts

October 6, 2026 Michael Bickerton

Use this checklist while planning, before approving creative, and again before launch. It summarizes the rest of this guide; read the individual pages and obtain program-specific legal and privacy review when a decision turns on jurisdiction, prize, mechanic, or data use.

Mechanics and legal footprint

Do	Don’t
Set the objectives, eligible markets, and prizes before committing to an entry mechanic.	Copy a mechanic simply because it worked for another brand you saw.
Decide whether winners will be selected by chance, skill, or a combination of both. Where applicable, review how winners advance and are selected at each stage.	Assume that including a voting or judging stage automatically makes the promotion a skill-based contest.
Provide a free, equal-opportunity entry method for a sweepstakes that offers entries through purchases or other forms of consideration.	Give purchasers better odds, more entries, or an easier route to entry without legal review.
Verify applicable New York, Florida, Rhode Island, and other jurisdictional filing and security rules before setting the date.	Treat the three cited state triggers as a complete national compliance checklist.
Review the requirements in each eligible jurisdiction before launch, including registration and bonding, no-purchase entry methods, skill-testing questions, disclosures, and language requirements.	Assume that meeting the requirements in one state or country makes the promotion compliant everywhere it runs.

Rules, platform and winners

Do	Don’t
Draft the official rules, advertising disclosures, and website copy to confirm accuracy and compliance.	Hide important terms, such as eligibility, prizing, or free-entry methods.
Test the full entry process before launch to ensure forms, messages, consent options, and integrations work correctly.	Launch without testing the entry process from start to finish.
Set valid-entry criteria, internal fraud-review documentation, judging criteria, and draw documentation before entries arrive.	Apply new standards during the campaign.
Verify eligibility and any required affidavits, releases, and tax documentation before announcing winners.	Assume documentation never matters for a low value prize.
Source and ship prizes under the official rules, and complete any required state winner filings.	Substitute a prize or miss a post-close filing for operational convenience.

Data and communications

Do	Don’t
Collect only needed entrant data; provide clear notice and appropriate optional marketing choices.	Treat entry as automatic consent to future marketing.
Set vendor sharing, access, retention, and deletion arrangements before launch.	Leave data close-out for an unspecified later date.
Assess applicable U.S. state privacy laws, Canadian privacy law, and CASL separately.	Call CASL Canada’s general privacy law; it governs commercial electronic messages.
Verify third-party email-list permissions, sender requirements, and list quality before sending.	Assume a purchased list is lawful because the sender has authenticated its domain.

Amplification and reporting

Do	Don’t
Budget and prepare email, social, creators, paid media, and PR according to their actual jobs.	Activate every account without audience fit or a route to entry.
Check restricted-category ad policies and the target market before producing assets.	Assume a lawful cannabis or alcohol business can advertise any giveaway.
Assess tracking notices and consent, then test permitted conversion events before launch.	Install pixels by default or expect a later tag to capture earlier visits.
Give paid creators clear deliverables, visible material-relationship disclosures, and tagged links.	Rely on a contract clause or views alone to prove disclosure and entries.
Report clicks, completed and valid entries, cost, and attribution limits.	Report opens or impressions as proof of qualified participation.

The final check

The simplest final check is whether the rules, entry page, ads, data plan, and winner process all describe the same program. If one does not, resolve the difference before launch. This checklist is general educational information and does not replace advice for a specific program.

Ready to plan one? Contact RAVEN5. Visit raven5.com/ to learn more.

← Part 2: Contest Amplification: 2026 Edition | 2026 Sweepstakes Guidelines overview

Michael Bickerton, October 2026