User:RJaguar3/Sweepstakes

A sweepstakes (or sweeps) is a giveaway in which a prize or prizes are distributed to one or more entrants through a method that involves chance.

Unlike a lottery, entrants do not have to pay anything to enter a sweepstakes or receive a sweepstakes prize. Although many sweepstakes sponsors offer entries to purchasers of products, no purchase is necessary to enter a sweepstakes, since players who wish to enter without purchasing a product can do so via an alternate means of entry (AMOE). Sweepstakes also differ from contests, which, depending on the jurisdiction, can charge entry fees or require a purchase, in that skill is at least the primary determinant of the winner of a contest.

Sweepstakes in the United States

U.S. Federal Trade Commission headquarters at the Federal Trade Commission Building, Washington, D.C.

In the U.S., sweepstakes sponsors are very careful to disassociate themselves from any suggestion that players must pay to enter, as this would bring them into conflict with federal lottery laws. Sweepstakes typically involve enticements to enter a consumer promotion for prizes that range from fantastic wins such as cars or large sums of money to smaller prizes that are currently popular with consumers in the United States such as Apple iPods. There should be no monetary cost to the entrant to participate for the sweepstakes prize drawing (although some online sweepstakes require entrants to subscribe or promotional mailing list) and sweepstakes winners should also not be required to pay a fee of any type to receive their prizes.^[1]

Because of their potential for abuse, sweepstakes are heavily regulated in many countries. The U.S., Canada, and individual U.S. states all have laws covering sweepstakes, resulting in special rules depending on where the entrant lives. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission exercises some authority over sweepstakes promotion and sweepstakes scams in the United States. Notably, sweepstakes in Canada and several European countries require entrants to solve a mathematical puzzle, making it a contest of skill, in order to overcome requirements that would classify sweepstakes as a form of gambling. There are similar laws in Brazil, where sweepstakes must include a “cultural contest”, often giveaway questions like “which brand gives you a house?”

As an example relating to state laws pertaining to sweepstakes promotions within the United States, Tennessee residents are prohibited by a policy of the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (and not a state law) from entering sweepstakes online sponsored by manufacturers of wines and liquors; however, Tennessee residents may enter many of these same sweepstakes promotions by entries delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. Another example is wherein Tennessee state law prohibits sweepstakes agencies and sponsors from requiring sweepstakes prize winners to submit to "in perpetuity" publicity releases.

Most corporate-sponsored sweepstakes promoted in the United States limit entry to U.S. citizens, although some allow entry by legal residents of both the United States and Canada.

Among the most popularly known sweepstakes in the United States were the American Family Publishers Sweepstakes (now defunct), Publishers Clearing House and Reader's Digest Sweepstakes, each of which strongly persuaded entrants to purchase magazine subscriptions by placing stickers on contest entry cardstock while promising multi-million dollar (annuity) winners who will be "announced on TV." The American Family Publishers sweepstakes traditionally used paid advertisements during NBC's The Tonight Show to announce its grand prize winners (for many years, its celebrity spokesman was Ed McMahon). All three companies eventually paid millions of dollars in fines and penalties to a variety of States who initiated legal actions against them.

The HGTV "Dream Home Giveway" is the American cable network Home & Garden Television annual project house and sweepstakes, held since 1997. The sweepstakes promotion commences with a January 1 television special showcasing the fully furnished, custom-built home valued in excess of one million dollars; viewers are invited to enter online or by sending in a postcard. The 2007 HGTV sweepstakes drew 41 million entries.[1]

Many sweepstakers meet locally in "clubs" and nationally at a yearly convention, which 800 people attended in 2006.The 18th National Sweepstakes Convention was held in June 2007 at Dearborn, Michigan. Sweepstakes conventions are hosted by a local club in a different state each year.

Sweepstake in Colombia, South America

After years of heavy promotions and war prices, consumer packaged goods companies turned to Sweepstakes to influence consumer behavior in favor of prizes or “gifts” over changes in price. This has led to changes in marketing strategies targeting supermarket's consumers. Now, shoppers expect to find sweepstakes promotions whenever they go grocery shopping. With Sweepstakes, shoppers can win big prizes like houses, cars, or cruise ship trips or smaller prizes such as gift cards. These strategies have paid off, now consumers are not only looking at changes in price but also they are looking for the brand that offers the best sweepstake promotion.

General structure of winning a sweepstakes prize

Almost every sweepstakes in the United States offering prizes valued at US$600 or greater will typically follow the following structure outlining the lifetime of a sweepstakes:

Sponsor promotion

Creating the sweepstakes promotion for a sponsor or sponsors;
Advertising the sweepstakes, prize structure, and the official rules;
Opening date for receiving entries;
Closing date for receiving entries;
Drawing date to judge winning entries.

Winner notification

Sweepstakes promotion judges contacting prize winner;
Winner filing publicity release with sponsor's sweepstakes promotion agency;
Winner filing affidavit of eligibility (compliance with official rules) with sponsor's sweepstakes promotion agency;
Winner filling any required federal or state tax forms with sponsor's sweepstakes promotion agency;

Winner receives prize.

By law, the sponsors of sweepstakes must not require the prize winners to pay any shipping or handing charges in order to win or receive their prizes.

Sweepers frequently send out SASE (self addressed, stamped envelopes) to receive free game pieces, official entry forms, and copies of the official rules that are unique and pertaining to individual sweepstakes promotions.

Sweepstakes on the Internet

Entering sweepstakes by mail is declining in popularity, and many more sweepers are choosing to enter online sweepstakes. Online sweepstakes are most often quick and easy to enter, provide confirmation when an entry is received from the sweeper, and require no investment in postage, card stock, and envelopes. Online sweepstakes are becoming more popular in the tech review community, which generally is for a tech item, and is known as a "giveaway".

Efficiency

Internet sweeping allows sweepers to research and find online sweepstakes forms, to bookmark and organize sweepstakes URLs as a file within web browser software, and to use the web browser "form fill" tools to paste required personal contact information onto the online sweepstakes forms.

There are many online sweepstakes directories, some offering advanced features such as tracking which sweepstakes have been entered and possibly providing many different categorizations for the competitions listed.

Online sweepstaking web sites offer additional organizational methods for keeping track of your entries, and finding sweepstakes with the best odds for you to win. Some include local/restricted promotions, which limit the amount of registrations into a particular sweepstakes.

An example of a reCAPTCHA challenge

There are also other online services, which automatically enter members into sweepstakes. Members sign up once and are entered to various sweepstakes each month. This saves entrants time and effort; however, some sponsors of sweepstakes prohibit entries those kinds of automated sweepstakes entries since they want entrants to interact with the online presentation at the prize sponsors' websites; these sweepstakes promotions often employ CAPTCHA (an acronym meaning Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) and reCAPTCHA screening technologies to prohibit automated entry.

References

^ U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

External links

[1] U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

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