Legal Question in Business Law in Massachusetts

I have a question about a new contest I just learned about, this would most likely deal with 'lottery' laws.

This particular contest has two versions of its "official rules" in separate locations on its website, one with a "no purchase necessary" clause and one without. This made me ask the questions weather the contest could be considered a lottery or not.

The contest essentially is booking a reservation (requiring a cost) to earn points, then the persons with the most points at the end of the contest win prizes. (Ex, Jill made 34 reservations during the contest period and made 3400 points [@ 100pts per reservation] and Bob made 40 reservations during the contest period and made 4000 points. The contest ends and Bob is declared the winner, granting him the prize.)

My question is this, would the contest fall under the lottery laws and require you to have a no purchase necessary clause to avoid it, or would the lottery laws not be applicable.

A summary of the facts would be these:

1. There is a prize being awarded that has value.

2. You must make a purchase to be awarded points.

3. The contest winner is decided by who has the most points, not by a random drawing.

Thank you,


Asked on 10/28/14, 3:16 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Assuming this is being done in MA or by a Massachusetts business, this contest violates Massachusetts gambling and lottery laws. The answer to your question requires too much additional information and time to answer in detail.

Contests or promotional contests like this require registration and licensing with the Attorney General's office unless exempted under Federal Law.

Read more
Answered on 10/28/14, 4:59 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Business Law questions and answers in Massachusetts