10 Facts About Running Promotions in the Middle East

Abi Roman

Are you looking to run a promotion in the Middle East? This is a vast area made up of so many countries – each with their own language, culture, values and politics – that the implications can be overwhelming.

The Middle East consists of 22 countries: Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Israel, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen all with their own rules and laws for running promotions whether competitions, instant wins or prize draws

As experts on running promotions all over the world, at PromoVeritas we are finding that Middle Eastern consumers enjoy the buzz of entering promotions, particularly ‘Western’ style ones and it can be well worth the effort of working through the multitude of different legal regimes that exist within the region.

To give you an idea of how varied the regulations can be, consider our top 10 facts about running promotions in this region:

  1. In Kuwait instant win prizes must not involve anything which is against Islamic principles, local traditions or public order, so casino style games and scratch cards are banned.
  2. In Bahrain an application must be made and submitted at least 14 days before the launch of the promotion
  3. The penalties for not registering a promotion with the Ministry in Jordan can be imprisonment for up to one year and a fine
  4. In Oman, Promoters must publish the names of all prize winners in at least in two daily Arabic newspapers.
  5. Lebanese Promoters must pay 10% of the total value of all prizes offered to the Directorate of National Lottery
  6. In the UAE, fines for failing to register promotions can range from AED 2,000 (about USD 540) to AED 25,000 (about USD 6,800) for a first offence, and higher in subsequent instances.
  7. Qatar law requires prize draws to be made in the presence of a Ministry’s representative.
  8. In Saudi Arabia, promotions must be registered at least one month in advance of the live date of the promotion.
  9. The UAE is actually seven separate Emirates, each with their own rules and in some it is necessary to obtain licenses to run a promotion, in others, it is not.
  10. In Egypt, full terms and conditions for the promotion must be in Arabic.

As you can see running promotions in the Middle East is not easy, but PromoVeritas have many years of experience in the region and have a network of lawyers on the ground to simplify things for you. We will make sure your mechanic is feasible, write and translate your terms and conditions, register your promotion and then select or judge the winners.

To speak to one of our team about how we can help you bring your Middle East promotions to life, just as we have done for other global brands just give us a call on +44(0)20 325 6000 or email Gemma Cutting at info@promoveritas.com.