Guest Author - Sandy Lovern
In the United States, sweepstakes are carefully monitored and regulated by the US Federal Trade Commission, so that should dispel any worries you may have as to whether sweepstakes are really legitiamite. Of course there are always scammers out there, but if you are in doubt, read my article
Sweepstake Security
Sponsors must strictly adhere to sweepstake guidelines so they don't have a conflict with federal lottery laws, which is why there is never a charge for entering a sweepstakes. This is also why there should never be a fee required, in order for a recipient to receive a prize.
To hedge around requirements of some European countries and Canada, sweepstakes are made into a skill contest, requiring entrants to solve a mathematical puzzle, so the sweepstakes can't be classifed as gambling.
Some states such as Tennessee are prohibited by the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission, from entering sweepstakes online that deal with wine or liquor, but they may enter these same sweeps, if they are sent via the mail. This is why it is so important for you to read the official rules of any sweepstakes before you enter it.
Almost everyone has heard of and correlates sweepstakes with the Publishers Clearing House and Readers Digest Sweepstakes. Do your friends look at you a little weird when you tell them about your hobby? It's because Publishers Clearing House and the Readers Digest Sweepstakes got a lot of bad press and rightly so, since they had to pay millions in fines and penalties to some states, who instigated legal actions against them.
Every year sweepstakers look forward to the HGTV Dream Home Giveaway, where the grand prize is a beautiful fully furnished home in a grand location, along with a vehicle and many other perks. The 2002 HGTV Dream Home Giveaway received over 11 million entries.
Sweepstakes are becoming the new way of advertising for many. Food chains, movie promotions, booksellers, clothing stores and so many more, are all taking advantage of the vastness of the web, to entice consumers to use their products.
When sponsors plan a sweepstakes, they not only take into account the potential of entrant fraud, but they must also comply with national, state and local laws and regulations.
Not too many years ago, the most popular way to enter sweepstakes was by hand addressing an entry and mailing it in. Then entrants became smarter and began to use their computers, thereby causing sponsors to change their rules. This is why you now see that entries must be hand written and not mass produced.
With the state of the economy and people struggling to get by, I think sweepstakes are here to stay and will only get bigger. With more people entering, the odds of winning are going to continue to get steeper and steeper, but that's what makes sweepstakers a whole different breed of people. They have winning attitudes and a tenacity that won't let go until they hear, or see, those glorious words, "Congratulations, you're our Grand Prize Winner!"
Get the inside scoop on how people are winning all of those sweepstakes and contests, and here's a clue, it's not all luck! Sweepstakes Your Guide to Winning! will give you step-by-step instructions on how to be a winner. To learn more, go to Sweepstakes Your Guide to Winning!
To read more from Editor and Author Sandy Lovern, please visit
Sandy Lovern; and Sweepstakes Success
