Promotion Solutions

Legal Services

Legal Services

Promotions laws are very complex. In the U.S., there are federal and postal regulations and each state has different laws governing how sweepstakes and contests can be run. Knowing the law is vital to running your sweepstakes and contests and protecting yourself from liability, especially since most insurance companies will not cover you if you run your own sweepstakes or contest.

SweepstakesPros makes it easy to protect yourself and run a successful promotion. We are experts at running promotions. We have managed hundreds of sweepstakes, contests and promotions in the US, Canada and around the world with full rules and regulations for clients like 20th Century Fox, Hyatt, Nissan, Shell Oil, GM, Energizer, Dollar General, K-Mart and Honda.

We know what it takes to make your promotion legal, and we know how to improve the performance of your sweepstakes or contest to ensure success.

How do we protect you and your promotion?

  • In over 20 years, we have had zero legal challenges to promotions run by SweepstakesPros.
  • We are so confident in our services that we assume full liability for any sweepstakes or contest we run for you.
  • We are hands-on experts at creating, running and managing sweepstakes, contests and promotions.
  • We have run hundreds of successful promotions since we were founded over 20 years ago.
  • Our rates are up to 75% less expensive than the big law firms.
  • SweepstakesPros provides access to our licensed attorneys who have over 20 years of promotions expertise.
  • We are promotions experts. We understand the complex state and federal laws that govern sweepstakes and we know what it takes to make your promotion a success.

What Legal Services Do We Provide?

We provide the full range of sweepstakes administrative, legal and technical services so you have everything you need to run a successful sweepstakes. We give you the information and advice you need on how best to run your sweepstakes and access to legal counsel to ensure that your promotion is compliant with all applicable laws.

Strategy

We are experts at running successful, legal sweepstakes. We provide concept development, prize structure planning, execution management and strategic guidance to maximize the results of your sweepstakes.

Full Legal Indemnification

We will take full liability for all of our sweepstakes work. We provide full indemnification to you for all of the sweepstakes services we provide (unless, of course, you disregard our recommendations.)

Drafting Full Rules and Regulations

We will draft the Official Rules for your sweepstakes to comply with all applicable laws.

Independent Judging & Arbitration

SweepstakesPros will act as the third party independent judging organization for your sweepstakes. We will interpret rules and make fair and impartial decisions if issues arise and we will arbitrate any consumer complaints or inquiries. This will protect you. By designating SweepstakesPros as the third party independent judge in the Official Rules of the sweepstakes you (and more importantly your entrants) agree that if an issue or complaint arises, SweepstakesPros will decide how best to proceed. Courts have upheld that decisions by third party independent judges are binding and this limits your entrants from suing if a problem occurs.

Winner Documentation and Validation

SweepstakesPros will draft and deliver the winner validation and release documents for your sweepstakes (such as the Congratulations Letter, Affidavit of Eligibility, Advertising and Publicity Release, and the Prize and Travel Releases). We will receive the completed paperwork from the winners and complete the validation process to verify each winner’s eligibility in the sweepstakes. We will then store and file all winner affidavits in compliance will all applicable laws.

Background Checks

Winners can generate great PR for your company, they can also pose a significant PR nightmare when they have criminal records. SweepstakesPros can investigate the background of your winners to determine if you should promote them in the press and in your advertising.

Tax Filings

You are responsible for reporting (and sometimes withholding) winnings for winners who receive $600 or more in prizes. SweepstakesPros will prepare and issue the appropriate IRS tax forms to all applicable winners and will withhold and submit the appropriate winnings and documentation to the IRS if required.

Web Site Privacy Policies and Terms & Conditions

SweepstakesPros legal group can help you draft the required privacy policy and the terms and conditions for your sweepstakes website.

Marketing to Minors COPPA & CARU Compliance

SweepstakesPros provides the information you need to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus which restrict sweepstakes directed at children.

Sweepstakes Legal Review

We provide information and advice on how best to run your sweepstakes and access to legal counsel to ensure that your promotion is compliant with all applicable U.S. federal and state laws, Canadian and provincial laws and international laws.

Sweepstakes Insurance Coverage

Most business insurance will not cover your company if you run into trouble while running a sweepstakes. But if you work with SweepstakesPros, we will take on that risk. All of our services are covered under a comprehensive Professional Liability Insurance policy which is expressly designed for promotions marketing and sweepstakes. Our insurance covers all of the services and materials we provide.

Advertising Review

We will provide you will the mandatory legal language, abbreviated rules and the required disclaimers for all of your advertising materials (print, radio, television, web, etc.). We will then review all of your advertising, media and materials to ensure that they are consistent with the promotional offer and with all federal and state regulations.

State Registration and Bonds

In the U.S., the states of Arizona, Rode Island, New York & Florida all have regulations requiring registration of sweepstakes or contests under certain conditions. In addition, if the total prize value of your sweepstakes is over $5,000, separate surety bonds for the total value of all prizes are required in New York and Florida. SweepstakesPros will manage the registration and filing of your promotion in each state and acquire the appropriate surety bonds (or if eligible, file a surety bond waiver request) so that all of your state filing requirements are covered. We also handle international filings and bonds too.

Third Party Winner Selection

How do you ensure customers and courts that your sweepstakes was fair? By having SweepstakesPros pick your winners. As an independent party, SweepstakesPros has no incentive to pick your “best” customers so we will ensure that your winners are picked fairly and impartially. To pick your winners, SweepstakesPros will compile all of the sweepstakes entries and complete a supervised, impartial, random drawing to select the winners.

Winners Lists

You are required by law to provide a list of winners to all who request it. Site Systems will create an independent, certified official winners’ list for your sweepstakes and fulfill all winners' list requests.

Data Security and Document Retention

In the U.S., each state has different data security and document retention laws that must be followed when you run a sweepstakes. In addition, documented procedures need to be followed to adhere to the law and limit liability. Site Systems will securely manage your sweepstakes and data and maintain the appropriate documents so you don’t have to worry.

Regulated Industries

SweepstakesPros legal group can help you navigate the promotion laws to ensure that your sweepstakes is compliant with regulated industries and products, such as banking, gasoline and alcohol.

CAN-SPAM Compliance

In the U.S., sweepstakes emails must comply with the CAN-SPAM Act. SweepstakesPros will ensure that all of the email communications for your sweepstakes comply with the rules set forth by the CAN-SPAM Act.

What International Legal Services Do We Provide?

Running sweepstakes in multiple countries can be very complex; each country, state and province has different legal requirements. SweepstakesPros has run sweepstakes in countries all over the world and we can help you run a successful sweepstakes that is legal in all of the countries where your customers live. Our international legal services include:

International Strategy

We help you structure your sweepstakes to appeal to consumers in your target countries. We also work with you to determine which countries pose a higher legal risk for your promotion and require local counsel in those countries to review the sweepstakes, advertising and the official rules.

International Legal Review

SweepstakesPros legal group has relationships with lawyers in all of the major countries in the world. We use our legal group's experience to structure the sweepstakes and draft the official rules to be compliant in all of your countries. We then clear the promotion, and the advertising with foreign counsel in each of the appropriate countries.

International Registration and Bonding

 Each country, state and province has different legal, registration and bonding requirements. SweepstakesPros will determine the requirements and will manage the registration and filing of your promotion in each country and acquire the appropriate surety bonds for your sweepstakes.

Translations

Official rules, affidavits, correspondence and other media must be translated for use in non-English speaking regions. SweepstakesPros provides legal translation services by qualified native speaking translators to ensure that your materials are consistent in all languages.

European Union Privacy Safe Harbor Certification

European Union member countries (plus Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein) prohibit the transfer of personal data from European Union member states to non-European Union nations, including the United States, that do not meet the European standards for privacy protection. The US Department of Commerce - in consultation with the European Commission - developed a "safe harbor" that enables US businesses to avoid prosecution by European authorities under European privacy laws. SweepstakesPros can help you get certified under the Safe Harbor program to protect you from EU prosecution and to ensure that EU organizations know your business provides the appropriate privacy protection required by the EU.

International Tax Filings

In the US, you are responsible for reporting and for withholding winnings for winners who are foreign nationals. International companies must also comply with tax filing requirements in the countries in which they reside. SweepstakesPros will help you determine the tax requirements for your international sweepstakes and manage the required filings and withholdings for you.

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