Back to Basics: Games of Chance
Every month our Legal Team will explore the world of prize promotions via our ‘Back to Basics’ series. This month Emily Vickers from our Legal Team focuses on games of chance.
Brands often have different reasons for running promotions; to increase trial, repeat purchase, traffic, loyalty and awareness amongst others and they have a range of tools or techniques available to achieve their objectives. So it is important to ensure that they use the right tool or ‘prize mechanic’ to achieve whatever this is.
Games of Chance or Prize Draws
Games of chance – more commonly known as prize draws – are the most popular technique that brands can use to promote their brand. Entries can be easily captured online, on social media, text or even by post -here’s a snapshot that explains why.
Games of chance are quite simple in principle; generally entrants will submit details on an entry page, all the entries are put together and the winner or winners are drawn at random by an independent person or an organisation, such as ourselves.
The main points to ensure when running games of chance promotions, found at CAP Code Rule 8.24 are:
- the prize must be awarded in accordance with the laws of chance
- through a process that produces verifiably random results
- by or under the supervision of an independent person.
Running prize draws overseas
The challenging part is understanding the differing rules from country to country relating to running games of chance. What is allowed in one country may not be allowed in another. PromoVeritas Legal Team can help with conducting legal reviews in countries you are wanting to run promotions in to ensure compliance with all local rules and regulations.
For example, in the UK games of chance are lawful provided that entrants don’t pay to enter or to receive the prize. This would include situations where the cost of the product has been increased for the purposes of the promotion. Whereas in Belgium games of chance cannot be run, they MUST include an element of skill in order to determine a winner.
There are many advantages of running games of chance; they are fairly simple to administer, they can create quick exposure for the brand, they can be run at a relatively low cost, it is quick to pick the winners and excitement for consumers can be increased by using exciting prizes. However, as always it is important that you run your promotions right, ensuring compliance, in order to avoid rulings by the ASA, which could damage your brands reputation. It is not simply a matter of picking winners out of a hat or asking a colleague to select one for you.
How PromoVeritas can help with Prize Draws
We can provide global legal concept advice to ensure that your game of chance promotion is fully compliant in the market you want to run it in. Furthermore we can draft the terms and conditions for the game of chance to ensure compliance with all the rules and regulations pertaining to your promotion.
From an implementation perspective we can create microsites where entrants will submit their details to enter your promotion, conduct the prize draw, fulfil the prizes and communicate with the winners. At the end of the promotion we will issue a Certificate of Verification to demonstrate the promotion’s compliance. Not only can we help with the practicalities of carrying out the promotion, we will protect your reputation.
Learn more about promotional compliance at our next Introduction to Promotional Compliance Sessions – a free webinar where our experts take you through the rules for running effective promotional activations. Sign-up here.
