Legal Giveaway Best Practices

Running giveaways is an exciting way to engage your audience, offering prizes and watching the buzz grow around your brand. It is more than just fun and games, though. There is a legal side to consider, and getting it wrong can result in fines, forced cancellation of your contest, or even lawsuits.

How do you ensure that your giveaways are not just engaging, but also legally compliant?

Why Legal Compliance Matters

Every country, and in some cases every state or province, has specific laws governing contests, sweepstakes, and giveaways. These laws exist to protect consumers from unfair practices, and they cover everything from how you can require entry, whether a purchase can be required, how you select and notify winners, and what disclosures you must provide.

The consequences of running a non-compliant giveaway range from inconvenient to serious. Social media platforms can shut down your promotion. State attorneys general can issue fines. And participants who feel the contest was unfair may pursue legal action. The good news is that compliance is straightforward once you understand the basic rules.

The Three Types of Promotions

Before diving into the specifics, it helps to understand the three main categories of promotions under most legal frameworks:

• Sweepstakes are pure chance-based drawings where no purchase or skill is required to enter. These are the most common type of online giveaway and generally the easiest to run legally, as long as you include a free method of entry.
• Contests involve some element of skill, such as a photo contest, essay submission, or creative challenge. Because winners are selected based on merit rather than chance, contests have different legal requirements than sweepstakes.
• Lotteries require purchase, chance, and a prize. Private lotteries are illegal in most jurisdictions, which is why legitimate giveaways always include a no-purchase-necessary entry method.

Understanding which category your promotion falls into determines which laws apply and what rules you need to follow.

What You Will Learn in This Guide

This guide has everything you need to understand and navigate the legalities of running a compliant giveaway. We cover the rules across multiple countries and platforms:

• Making giveaways fun and legal without over-complicating your campaign
• Types of legal giveaways and how each type affects your obligations
• Important legal terms you need to understand before launching any promotion
• Social media platform rules for running giveaways on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more
• Country-specific regulations for the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Australia, and Canada
• State-by-state laws for US-based promotions that may have additional requirements
• Tools and resources including our built-in contest rules template

KickoffLabs includes a customizable contest rules template with every campaign that covers the most common legal requirements out of the box. This guide will help you understand the reasoning behind those rules and customize them for your specific situation.

Dive into the chapters below to protect your business and delight your participants, every step of the way.