# How can this billboard be legal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 10, 2025, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592 "2025-12-10T18:12:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/41 "2025-12-10T22:36:59Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I roughly recall a semi-similar thought experiment raffle game where each player submitted any number of “chances”. Like buying as many raffle tickets as you want given unlimited funds. 1 ticket? Sure. 1 meeelion tickets? Sure. > > Once everyone had “bought” their “tickets”, a single ticket was randomly drawn and the lucky winner was announced. The headscratcher gotcha was that the prize to be awarded was 1/(total number of tickets entered). Yep - Douglas Hofstadter once ran a real-life version of that experiment via his monthly column, starting with a prize of $1 million. He ultimately didn’t bother with the ticket draw, since the prize ended up (in his words) “so close to zero that even God Himself couldn’t tell the difference.” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/42 "2025-12-10T23:20:21Z")
I used to love his columns and books. That’s almost certainly shere I read it. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/43 "2025-12-10T23:27:12Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Don’t you have to have a million in your Venmo account (or linked account) to do this. I’m thinking someone smart enough accumulate a million dollars in a Venmo account wouldn’t fall for this. How many millionaires lost money buying Trump’s various crypto coins? ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/44 "2025-12-10T23:35:39Z")
Probably several, but Trump is a known entity… a number on a billboard is not. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/45 "2025-12-11T00:51:11Z")
FYI, I suspect the Venmo angle is a key to avoiding the law. There was a popular scam way back (say in the 30s. that is when my father saw it), where someone would put a personal ad in the paper saying simply: “Quick! send $5 to [PO Box] before time runs out!”. People always quickly sent in their $5 before they realized they weren’t promised anything in return. The Feds eventually shut such scams down by making it illegal to use the US postal service to collect the money. That was the only legal tool they could come up with. Back then it was very effective. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/46 "2025-12-11T00:56:36Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > I suspect the Venmo angle is a key to avoiding the law. ISTM the Venmo part makes it wire fraud. 18 U.S. Code § 1343 > Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/47 "2025-12-11T00:57:44Z")
The fact that Venmo is a U.S.-only service would seem to give American law enforcement some interstate tools. The story would be different if this were offered on, I don’t know, PayPal or something, where the person on the other end could be almost literally anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/48 "2025-12-11T02:01:58Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > ISTM the Venmo part makes it wire fraud. > 18 U.S. Code § 1343 Good point, I think so also. It also could be money laundering…. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/49 "2025-12-11T02:05:17Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > Quick! send $5 to [PO Box] before time runs out! I always wondered whether some of those that sent money were blackmail victims who had been told to watch the advertisements for instructions on how to pay. And ad that just said ”send the money to xxx” could attract money from all sorts of unfortunates. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/50 "2025-12-11T02:39:15Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > The element of chance is contrasted with skill: if it’s chance, it’s a lottery; if it’s skill, it’s a contest. I don’t see how “whoever pays the most” can be defined as skill. It’s neither. It’s an auction for a bag of money, said monetary value not determined until after all bids are collected. And the auctioneer isn’t anteing up, but does collect half the wins. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/51 "2025-12-11T03:04:52Z")
In an auction you get your money back if you are not the winner. Not so, here. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/52 "2025-12-11T03:05:43Z")
I’d send in a few cents, just so you’re on a list of victims in case there ends up being some sort of class action settlement. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/53 "2025-12-11T03:49:37Z")
They lost money in the same way you lose money when you buy your boss a birthday present ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/54 "2025-12-11T04:15:13Z")
It’s a game of chance because you have no way of knowing if the amount you submit will win. I see no difference between that or buying lottery tickets. In either case, the more you spend, the more likely you are to win, but you cannot guarantee a win with any amount. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > In an auction you get your money back if you are not the winner. Not so, here. Exactly. Imagine if the way eBay worked is that you spend money on a bid but don’t get it back. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/55 "2025-12-11T04:32:42Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > It’s a game of chance because you have no way of knowing if the amount you submit will win. A game of chance, with pretty much zero visibility into whether it’s being run on the up-and-up. IANAL, but it sure sounds like fraud in the making. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/56 "2025-12-11T04:36:50Z")
It’s all so ridiculous, it makes me wonder if this is some viral marketing campaign from a legitimate business, who will soon reveal it as a joke to get eyeballs. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/57 "2025-12-11T04:41:30Z")
This is my guess ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/58 "2025-12-11T04:41:57Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > viral marketing campaign from a legitimate business See how people are talking? Rent this adspace! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/59 "2025-12-11T04:53:08Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > It’s all so ridiculous, it makes me wonder if this is some viral marketing campaign from a legitimate business, who will soon reveal it as a joke to get eyeballs. There was something similar here in Chicago, where there were cryptic billboards that said, “I Hate Steven Singer.” Turns out that Steven Singer is an online jeweler. Later billboards seemed to actually make it clear that it’s a jeweler, though they’ve kept the tagline. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592/60 "2025-12-11T05:11:34Z")
Yeah, I’m guessing the money gets returned so it’s not illegal, it’s just a stunt for something. Just a WAG. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-billboard-be-legal/1025592.md?page=4)