Legality
Unlike other games of chance, a sweepstakes is an advertising or promotional device by which prizes are awarded to participating consumers by chance and with no purchase or fee required to win. Sweepstakes have become a popular marketing tool for successful products and companies. McDonalds, Burger King, and Pepsi all promote their products through sweepstakes games. It is estimated that as many as 55 million Americans enter sweepstakes each year, with more than 15 million entering four or more times each year.
In our home state of North Carolina, the Alcohol Law Enforcement challenged the legality of the phone card sweepstakes. Click on the link below to read the court case in which sweepstakes phone cards were ruled legal.