Are Lotteries Legal for Private Businesses?

A prize, chance and consideration (payment or a purchase) together make a lottery. Most jurisdictions limit lotteries to governments and licensed charities, so a private business shouldn't run one.

You can remove one of the three elements:

• Remove payment. Run a sweepstakes with a free method of entry. Gleam shows the free alternative to entrants in the United States, Canada, Germany and Argentina when you set it up.
• Remove chance. Run a skill contest judged against published criteria and pick winners manually.

Our posts on the difference between contests and sweepstakes and what is an AMOE explain each approach. Local rules differ, so this isn't legal advice.