I was thinking about running a site that would charge users money and they get put into a lottery, the winner would receive either a cash reward, or a prize. Are there any places i have to notify of my services? An age requirement to run this service? What legal requirements if any are needed in order not to get into any trouble? I am based in the USA
Online gambling is illegal in the US. Sorry, but you would get shut down. That's why online poker casinos are based in other countries.
As stated, any form of what you are talking about is illegal in the US. There are other countries that allow it with a license, but you are talking about a very costly endeavor.
Actually it's illegal in the U.S. to charge for it. But technically, it's legal if you don't charge for it. For instance, you can "raffle" off an iPod or $100 or something as long as you didn't charge for a ticket. Take a look at fast food in the U.S. "No purchase nesseccary" for their contests A similar idea, on the internet, would be if you could have an "ad supported" raffle Just a thought--if you make money with that idea, send some my way!
The laws vary from state to state. The laws that cover Sweepstakes (games of chance, no payment to enter) also lay out a number of requirements to make them legal. Some states don't allow participants to be under 18. Some states may require you to register. http://www.lfirm.com/CM/MarketingLawBasics/Sweepstakes-Law-Basics.asp http://contests.about.com/od/sweeps...on_about_Sweepstakes_Laws_and_Regulations.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweepstakes#Sweepstakes_in_the_United_States
Winzy was a search engine that gave people raffle entries every time they searched the web using their search engine. You got an entry for every search, up to x amount per day. They made their money off of ads, but apparently weren't very successful because they recently closed their doors. I could see that idea having some potential if done right.
hmm, maybe i will continue planning this lotto. Thanks though for pointing out that fast food places do it. So maybe it could be if you play one of my flash games you get an entry if you reach a certain goal. Put some ads around the site and then maybe ill be able to get it going pretty good. *Starts sponsoring games*
But as nonny pointed out, state laws vary. You would need to have carefully drafted contest rules that comply with all state laws or state "this contest is not available to residents of _____" (whatever states you cannot or choose not to comply with).
Business attorney is on the right track. In my experience, companies try to fudge these games of chance into quasi-games of skill. And yes, you can exclude the residents of different states too, which is an excellent suggestion.