We in the US are all familiar with the disclaimer that comes as part of a radio or TV commercial promotional sweepstakes advertisement that says in rushed language at the end of the ad “offer void where prohibited.” Where are these places where such offers are prohibited? Why are they prohibited? I’m guessing it is a part of anti gambling statutes but that’s just a WAG.
I’m guessing it’s a boilerplate disclaimer to protect whoever’s running the contest from any particular legal prohibitions they might not have known about. For instance, one particular county in the area might say that it’s illegal to give away trips to other countries on tuesdays, or something like that.
The chances of something like that happening may be really quite small, but including a disclaimer like that would help protect the radio station from being prosecuted for violating such a statute. Plus, by now it’s tradition.
That’s a WAG.
IIRC Canada does not allow games of chance. Some contests get around this by requiring the potential winner to complete some game of skill, like adding 2+2.
Yup. It’s basic boilerplate. Here is an example of why it is necessary, though:
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/mileg.asp?page=getObject&objName=mcl-750-373&highlight=
So a business can’t have a free sweepstakes, unless it does so “clearly occasionally.” That’s hard to nail down. The boilerplate offers a partial solution.
An example radio ad:
“Buy 25 dollars of gas from Shell and be entered to win a new Hummer instantly. Just use your Shell Gas Card between September 15th and October 31st and you will be automatially entered. You could become the lucky winner of a new Hummer H3…blah blah blah…void where prohibted, must be 18 or older, blah, blah…”
Well, in New Jersey, it would be void, because you cannot tie gasoline sales to contests and give aways.