Prize drawing - do people have to sign up to list?

I'm in Los Angeles, California, though my business involves the whole
of the USA.

I would like to increase subscription to my opt-in "technology
newsletter" email/direct-mail list by offering to new subscribers an
entry in a weekly prize drawing - say for a new cel phone, laptop
computer etc. (but NO cash prizes.)

In fact, I am not charging people for anything - for being entered
into the draw - or for subsequently receiving newsletters when
subscribing to my service. My only income is from advertisers in the
newsletter.

The prizes are either purchased by myself, or donated by advertisers.

Here are my questions:

(1) With the weekly prize draw - can I state that, to be entered into
the draw, people HAVE to sign up to the mailing list? (Of course, they
can cancel whenever they want - immediately after signing up if they
so wished.) Or can they legally just send me their contact details and
say "here is my entry for the prize draw."

(2) There will be a number of weekly drawings - say eight taking place
over the course of two months. Do I only have to make the weekly
drawing from just NEW subscribers for that week, or do I have to make
the drawing from ALL existing subscribers? (i.e. subscribers get a
chance every week, not just the week they signed up.)


I've been using Google.com, and looking in many places for information
regarding this matter, but have only come up with details on
sweepstakes and the like, and their "No purchase necessary!"
requirement. In my case, even though no physical purchase of an item
happens, do I have to state that "No sign up is necessary"?

And advice and/or pointers to further sources of information would be
much appreciated!

Thanks in advance, Simon.

"SimonC" <google_groups@excite.com> wrote in message
news:civcsb02ahe@enews4.newsguy.com...
>
> I'm in Los Angeles, California, though my business involves the whole
> of the USA.
>
> I would like to increase subscription to my opt-in "technology
> newsletter" email/direct-mail list by offering to new subscribers an
> entry in a weekly prize drawing - say for a new cel phone, laptop
> computer etc. (but NO cash prizes.)
>
> In fact, I am not charging people for anything - for being entered
> into the draw - or for subsequently receiving newsletters when
> subscribing to my service. My only income is from advertisers in the
> newsletter.
>
> The prizes are either purchased by myself, or donated by advertisers.
>
> Here are my questions:
>
> (1) With the weekly prize draw - can I state that, to be entered into
> the draw, people HAVE to sign up to the mailing list? (Of course, they
> can cancel whenever they want - immediately after signing up if they
> so wished.) Or can they legally just send me their contact details and
> say "here is my entry for the prize draw."
>
> (2) There will be a number of weekly drawings - say eight taking place
> over the course of two months. Do I only have to make the weekly
> drawing from just NEW subscribers for that week, or do I have to make
> the drawing from ALL existing subscribers? (i.e. subscribers get a
> chance every week, not just the week they signed up.)
>
>
> I've been using Google.com, and looking in many places for information
> regarding this matter, but have only come up with details on
> sweepstakes and the like, and their "No purchase necessary!"
> requirement. In my case, even though no physical purchase of an item
> happens, do I have to state that "No sign up is necessary"?
>
> And advice and/or pointers to further sources of information would be
> much appreciated!
>
> Thanks in advance, Simon.
>

Simon,

Go to the horse's mouth - call or email the California Attorney General, and
ask your questions. Most state government agencies would rather answer your
questions than chase you down & prosecute you. Be careful at the same time
that you do not violate the state & federal "commercial email" statutes -
ask about that, as well.

George

"SimonC" <google_groups@excite.com> wrote in message
news:civcsb02ahe@enews4.newsguy.com...
>
>
> (1) With the weekly prize draw - can I state that, to be entered into
> the draw, people HAVE to sign up to the mailing list? (Of course, they
> can cancel whenever they want - immediately after signing up if they
> so wished.) Or can they legally just send me their contact details and
> say "here is my entry for the prize draw."
>
> (2) There will be a number of weekly drawings - say eight taking place
> over the course of two months. Do I only have to make the weekly
> drawing from just NEW subscribers for that week, or do I have to make
> the drawing from ALL existing subscribers? (i.e. subscribers get a
> chance every week, not just the week they signed up.)
>
>

I am not a lawyer, but have looked into contests and the laws involved in
them before. If you're worried about legality, the general rules are the
contest can't involve three things: price, chance and consideration.
Consideration is something of real value, like money. Making it a
requirement that someone sign up for your mailing list in order to be
entered into the drawing is not consideration, therefore your drawing is not
an illegal lottery. If you charged for the newsletter, then it would be an
illegal lottery which is why you see the "No Purchase Necessary" disclaimer
all the time.

--
McWebber
No email replies read
If someone tells you to forward an email to all your friends
please forget that I'm your friend.

Thanks for the reply George. I have just sent off an email to the
Attorney General for California, but in the meantime, if anybody else
has any comments, then please let me know.