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Facebook New Sweepstakes Rules Restrict Certain Sweepstakes As Facebook continues to evolve into a widely-popular medium that consumes our lives, so too are the restrictions on using the channel for promotional activities. Facebook's new restrictions on sweepstakes, updated on November 4, 2009, is causing some controversy as to its broad restrictions on certain categories of sweepstakes prize promotions. The Facebook Promotions Guidelines can be found here.
Twitter-Based Prize Promotions: Tweeting for Trouble Running a contest or sweepstakes on Twitter? Don't forget that laws still apply.
FTC Clarifies Position on Forward to a Friend The Federal Trade Commission announced that it had approved new rule provisions intended to clarify CAN-SPAM requirements. The comments to the updated rules discuss various fact situations in which a company would (or would not) be responsible as the "sender" in a Forward to a Friend situation. The discussion of Forward to a Friend focuses mainly on issues of inducement.
California Sweepstakes Bill Modified to Reduce Industry Concerns The California State Assembly and Senate recently passed a bill that would amend existing state law by adding numerous disclosure requirements for sweepstakes materials.
New York Attorney General Settles with H&R Block Regarding Deceptive Advertising Tactics in Sweepstakes Programs New York Attorney General has settled with the tax preparation company H&R Block regarding two sweepstakes promoted by the company to induce consumers to utilize its tax preparation services. H&R conducted two sweepstakes games: "Double Your Refund Instant Win Game" from January through April 2006 and "Toss Out Your Bills Instant Win Game" from January through April 2007. In both games, consumers could win by means of a scratch-off card, which was given to customers who purchased H&R Block tax preparation services.
ABA Practical Lawyer Article Explores Compliance Considerations For User-Generated Content Promotion The Lustigman Firm's attorneys' Andrew Lustigman and Adam Solomon article Legal Considerations For Promotions Involving User Generated Content appears in the American Bar Association's The Practical Lawyer (June 2008) . The article provides a broad overview of the legal consideration to be considered in creating this increasingly popular promotional marketing technique.
GA SC Holds That Premium Text Message Games Do Not Constitute Gambling The Georgia Supreme Court recently ruled that the SMS game conducted during the NBC broadcast of Deal or No Deal does not violate Georgia's gambling law. The suit filed in federal court had contended that the SMS Game in which viewers, like the participants on Deal or No Deal, try to pick a lucky suitcase ran afoul of Georgia law because participants were charged 99 cents to play through their cell phones regardless of the availability of a no-purchase alternate method of entry. The, the Court found that "neither defendants nor any participant is certain to lose, and the contract's consideration [the $.99 text messaging entry fee] never hangs in the balance." but rather is paid regardless of the outcome of the promotion. Given the absence of gambling consideration, the court found that the SMS fees were not part of a gambling contract.
Update on Sweepstakes and Promotion Challenges Our article summarizing recent challenges in the sweepstakes and promotional marketing arena highlights recent mishapsand events of importance in an effort to identify traps for the unwary.
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Update: Oral Argument Takes Place in Georgia Deal or No Deal Qui Tam Lawsuit Oral argument on a critical question in a federal class action filed in Georgia (Hardin et al. v. NBC Universal et al.) against Deal or No Deal was heard yesterday by the Georgia Supreme Court. In that case, the plaintiffs are seeking to get their money back not from the winner of the contest, but from the organizer NBC Universal and companies affiliated with the show The District Court certified two questions to the Georgia Supreme Court. First, does Georgia Law (O.C.G.A. s. 13-8-3(b)) authorize the filing and maintenance of a civil suit to recover money paid out or lost on account of one's participation in an illegal lottery? Second, if the answer is in the affirmative, may the plaintiffs recover from the lottery's promoter or organizer?
Class Actions Against Premium SMS Sweepstakes Promotions To Go Forward Contests incorporated into popular shows such as American Idol, Deal or No Deal, 1 vs. 100, and The Apprentice have generated lawsuits by people claiming the contests are illegal lotteries. Now that four lawsuits have survived the first round of attempts to get them thrown out, it looks like they will become part of the new reality for the producers of these shows. The recently issued decisions out of the federal court in Los Angeles, California denying defendants' motions to dismiss class and representative action claims demonstrates the risk in having a "pay to play" component in sms game promotions.
Proposed New Jersey Sweepstakes Legislation Would Unfairly Stifle Legitimate Promotions A bill greatly restricting sweepstakes promotions is shuffling through the New Jersey legislature. New Jersey Assembly Bill 2950 ("Regulates Operations of Sweepstakes In New Jersey) presents enormous problems for sweepstakes marketers. This legislation is not limited to just direct mail, but rather all channels. The bill itself is quite complex and should be read by all marketers engaged in sweepstakes promotions. |
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