PROMOTIONAL COMPETITIONS CHECKLIST

PROMOTIONAL COMPETITIONS CHECKLIST

The promoter of a promotional competition:
1.Must not require any consideration to be paid by or behalf of any participant  – other than the reasonable costs of posting or transmitting an entry
2.Must not award a prize to a winner of the competition if it is unlawful to supply those goods or services to that prize winner.
3.Must not award a prize to any person who is a (a) a director, member, partner, employee or agent of, or consultant to the promoter or any other person who directly or indirectly controls or is controlled by, the promoter or (b) a supplier of goods or services in connection with that competition; or (c) the spouses, life partners, business partners or immediate family members of any of the above parties     
4.Must prepare competition rules before the beginning of the competition 
5.Must make the competition rules available to the Commission and to any participant, on request and without cost
6The promoter must ensure that an independent accountant, registered auditor, attorney or advocate oversees and certifies the conducting of the competition and must report this through the promoter’s internal audit reporting or other appropriate validation or verification procedures
An offer to participate in a promotional competition must clearly state:
7.The benefit or competition to which the offer relates
8.The steps required by a person to accept the offer or to participate in the competition
9.The basis on which the results of the competition will be determined
10.The closing date for the competition
11.The medium through or by which the results of the competition will be made known
12.Any person from whom, any place where, and any date and time on or at which (i) a person may obtain a copy of the competition rules; and (ii) a successful participant may receive any prize  
13.The requirements of points 7 – 12 may be satisfied either –  (a) directly on any medium through which a person participates in a promotional competition;  (b) on a document accompanying any medium contemplated in paragraph (a); or (c) in any advertisement that –       (i)  is published during the time and throughout the area in which the promotional competition is conducted; and      (ii) draws attention to and is clearly associated with the promotional competition
Record keeping:
14The person who conducts a promotional competition must, for a period of at least three years, retain-

(a)   full details of the promoter, including identity or registration numbers, as the case may be, addresses and contact numbers

(b)   the rules of the promotional competition

(c)   a copy of the offer to participate in a promotional competition

(d)   the names and identity numbers of the persons responsible for conducting the promotional competition

(e)   a full list of all the prizes offer

(f)    a representative selection of materials marketing the promotional competition or an electronic copy thereof

(g)  a list of all instances when the promotional competition was marketed, including details on the dates, the medium used and places where the marketing took place

(h)  the names and identity numbers of the persons responsible for conducting the selection of prize winners in the promotional competition

(i)   an acknowledgment of receipt of the prize signed by the prize winner, or legal guardian, and his/her identity number, and the date of receipt of the prize, or where this is not possible, proof that the prize was sent by post or other electronic means to the winner using his/her provided details

j)    declarations by the persons contemplated in paragraph (d) made under oath or affirmation that the prize winners were to their best knowledge not directors, members, partners, employees, agents or consultants of or any other person who directly or indirectly controls or is controlled by the promoter or marketing service providers in respect of the promotional competition, or the spouses, life partners, business partners or immediate family members

(k)   the basis on which the prize winners were determined

(I)   the summary describing the proceedings to determine the winners, including the names of the persons participating in determining the prize winners, the date and place where that determination took place and whether those proceedings were open to the general public

(m) whether an independent person oversaw the determination of the prize winners, and his or her name and identity number

(n)   the means by which the prize winners were announced and the frequency thereof

(o)   a list of the names and identity numbers of the prize winners

(p)   a list of the dates when the prizes were handed over or paid to the prize winners

(q)   in the event that a prize winner could not be contacted, the steps taken by the promoter to contact the winner or otherwise inform the winner of his or her winning a prize

(r)    in the event that a prize winner did not receive or accept his or her prize, the reason for his or her not so receiving or accepting the prize, and the steps taken by the promoter to hand over or pay the prize to that prize winner