Legal Question in Business Law in California

I'm a travel agent and resident of California. I would like to know if it is legal to start a Travel Lottery to win a free cruise. The rules would be that a person could win a free cruise by paying a certain amount of money. I want to stipulate that the free prize is only valid if a certain amount of people enter. I'm trying to use this lottery to generate buzz for the cruise itself (and to pay for the cabin) not necessarily to make a profit from the sweepstakes. I also want to state that if there are less than 100 entrants all will receive a gift card worth double the entrance fee. Is this legal? If not would a wording change (sweepstakes, lottery or competition) or some other action make it legal? Thanks in advance.


Asked on 3/08/11, 9:31 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

It's illegal, and cannot be made legal. Lotteries, whatever you call them, can be operated legally only by certain nonprofits. One of the requirements is that the nonprofit have been in existence for a certain minimum period before it runs its lottery.

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Answered on 3/08/11, 11:29 am


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