The legal side of competitions

We're not even going to try to cover all aspects of competitions and the law, but you should be aware that competitions are either lightly or heavily regulated depending on where they originate from and the type of format involved.

Whatever the format, we believe that the terms and conditions (the fine print) should carry enough of the basics to tell you that a competition is legitimate. You should know

1. the start and end date
2. what you need to do or buy to enter
3. who can enter and how often
4. the prize/s and values, and
5. when and where the winner/s will be announced

There's a lot more that can be added to the list, and in fact a full set of t's & c's can span several A4 pieces of paper. Rule of thumb though, if you can't answer the above be very wary.

Chance competitions should have permits displayed if they accept entries from NSW or ACT. You don't need a permit in WA, TAS or QLD, and only in NT under special circumstances. SA and VIC require permits for competitions only of a certain value.

We often see online promoters running competitions without permits and frequently hear "I've been told you don't need one if the prize is under $100". Not so, and if you own a website and are reading this please take note. Lotteries are no laughing matter.

Skills competitions don't require permits, but again a number of promoters think that asking a WOL question still allows them to conduct a draw or ask the ol' fashioned missing letter competition (remember those?). Wrong, chance and randomness can play no part.

As an entrant, whether a competition is legally compliant shouldn't worry you too much. However we always feel that a strong and clear set of terms and conditions says a lot about the promoter and the competition.

If you can't see the rules, how can you play by them?

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©Craig Bradley Market Engineering Pty Ltd. 2009. All articles are original content and opinions of the author Craig Seitam. Copying of all or part of any content without the expressed permission of the author is prohibited.