Chinese Auctions | Imamother

amother

Fri, Jan 03 2020, 2:49 pm

what's up with the Chinese auctions having fine print (in the huge money raffles) that no donation is necessary to win - I could just stick a ticket in without giving any money??

Amarante

Fri, Jan 03 2020, 2:57 pm

Because technically you must follow certain regulations if you sell tickets to a lottery. I doubt this is enforced for local types of lotteries but it's the reason why the "small print" in every national sweepstake or contest states that you don't have to purchase anything to win.

tilot37354

Fri, Jan 03 2020, 3:50 pm

Governments have a monopoly on lotteries (the tax on the poor/stupid/mathematically challenged or whatever saying is in style). In order for a sweepstakes not to be a lottery, it has to be a free giveaway, which means there has to be a viable method of entry that does not necessitate payment.

Chinese auctions are generally considered to be raffles, not lotteries (a raffle just means there's a guaranteed winner among the entrants), so they usually won't have the no purchase necessary verbiage. Only a 501(c)3 can legally have a raffle, and the laws vary by state. The big money raffles are often multi state affairs and are split up, advertised, and sold through multiple unaffiliated organizations, which makes defining them as a raffle legally problematic. Being defined as a raffle also means that purchasing a ticket is a form of gambling, so online sales would be illegal in states that prohibit online gambling.

It makes it simpler to be compliant with regulations all around to be legally considered a sweepstakes, so the no purchase necessary language is a necessity.