I wanted to run an online raffle...

Here's how it would play out:

1. They would signup
2. Complete *Free* offers (Free meaning no purchase necessary but like an email or zip code submit or website signup - Basically PPL offers from CPALead.com
3. Each lead would give them points toward the next raffle. I would limit the number of entry to like 10, so I won't run out of offers.
4. For each offer done (and to make a profit), it would ad $0.25 to the "pot", since most offers are >$0.50, to make a profit.

Would this work since its a "No Purchase Necessary" raffle? I live in Florida, but I'm sure the server I'm going to host it on isn't (HostMonster). If needed some parts of the profit would go to charity.


Anyone have an idea if it would be LEGAL?

Thanks

 

It is not a "raffle" as no fee is required to play. I believe what you want to do is legally called a "sweepstake" where the player does not have to make a purchase but may have to follow some eligibility rules.

Each state has different rules regarding sweepstakes. Have you ever seen all the small print on the back of McDonald's Monopoly game?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweepstakes

BTW:IANAL

 

Toby is correct on both counts. What you're proposing is a sweepstakes. And each state has its own rules regarding it's citizens' participation in them. These laws are involved enough that there are lawyers dedicated to the practice of this subspecialty.

I would recommend finding one before you spend a whole lot of time on it. You've got at least 50 state laws to review - not an easy or quick task.

 

Be advised what you are doing could be considered a lottery as opposed to a sweepstakes, depending on the amount of information the users have to give away, even if you aren't charging to enter. For example if you want the people to fill out a 100 page survey about every possible detail of their life along with all their personal information you have probably moved into that realm. At that point you would be considered a lottery as opposed to a sweepstakes, something that is illegal or would require so much time to set up legally that it wouldn't be feasible. Defining that line between sweepstakes and lottery is the hard part, and if you want to be sure you need a lawyer to examine the specifics.

 

Just in case you haven't heard about it, what you are describing sounds similar to JackpotRewards.com because it serves as a sweepstakes, paid subscriptions, and cash back program (percentage of affiliate sales commissions) instead of a traditional or online lottery.

You would be wise to check with a lawyer to look over your terms of service, privacy policy, and local government laws for your specific location. Even if you put the domain registration details in another country, and offshore web hosting, I'll bet there is still some sneaky way for you to get in trouble if the site does something considered illegal. And don't forget about security of the web server, because in some cases you can be held liable for unauthorized actions if you were negligent or lax about reviewing logs and blocking attackers.

 

We are also missing the part about affiliate networks possibly not wanting you to generate leads that way... that raises a whole other issue.

 

Thats not a bad point. You could use incent offers though?

 

if you can get the traffic you can use CPM advertisers to get revenue.