Comments on: How best to manage a prize draw / giveaway?

Question: How best to manage a prize draw / giveaway?

Anonymous — Fri, 29 May 2009 19:49:22 -0800

What rules / laws govern prize draws and contests in Ontario? How best to manage a giveaway much bigger than I've done before?

I'm organising a fund-raising event for a non-profit and a charity (2 separate organisations). I was expecting to giveaway a gift basket and a few CDs as door prizes. I've done this before and never worried about rules governing prize draws in the past at similar events.

Somebody has very kindly donated a trip worth several thousand dollars. This puts me into 'how do I handle this?' territory, as I regularly see long lists of contest rules and 'no purchase necessary' type statements on such contests.

Does Ontario or Canadian law govern such contests?

I was thinking of giving a ballot with a purchase (from the non-profit) or a donation (to the charity). Is this ok? Or do I have to do a 'no purchase necessary' option?

While I will exclude staff of both organisations from the draw, I want to allow volunteers to be able to be able to enter. OK? I will get the person representing the donor to govern all aspects of the draw to ensure no bias.

What else should I know? Hiring a lawyer to draw up rules is not an option. Registering for a license is more than I want to do. I just want to give this thing away to somebody who will appreciate it, raise money for the charity and promote the non-profit.

By: Phire

Phire — Fri, 29 May 2009 21:24:45 -0800

From what I remember, the reason there is a "no purchase necessary option" is because a contest involving a very large price, pure luck, and purchased raffles/tickets can be treated as a lottery, which is governed rather strictly by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. There's a bit more info here.

By: smorange

smorange — Fri, 29 May 2009 22:26:51 -0800

Don't consult random strangers on the Internet for this type of thing. You need a lawyer. You say it's "not an option," but it could end up costing you and your non-profit a lot more if you don't at least consult one. Anyway, you might be able to get a lawyer to donate his/her time to your cause.

By: wsp

wsp — Fri, 29 May 2009 23:11:10 -0800

First, you need a license from your municipality (rather than the AGCO), since the prize is worth less than $50K.

Then, go here and read Chapter 5. It seems to cover everything you need to know.

Finally, IANAL and really all of my major-raffle-organizing experience is that my high school had one once. All of the above info comes from trawling the AGCO website, so don't take it as gospel.

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Sat, 30 May 2009 12:41:12 -0800

You need a lawyer to answer these questions, period. Or you may have luck calling the AGCO and asking.