How to legally run a social media giveaway

Last reviewed 2026-08-05

A creator giveaway sits under three separate layers of rules: federal law, which restricts lotteries and the use of the mail and interstate commerce to promote them; state or provincial law, which defines the offence and can require registration or bonding for higher-value prizes; and the platform's own promotion policies. Keep entry free, publish official rules before entries open, draw the winner in a way you can evidence, and deliver the prize.

General information published by Dollar Fan Club — not legal advice. Read the full notice.

This page is the map. It explains which body of rules applies to what, and links to the page that handles each part properly. If you are looking for one specific answer — whether you can require a purchase, what "no purchase necessary" demands, what Instagram expects — go straight there.

Three layers, three different consequences

The layers are independent. A promotion can satisfy Instagram's guidelines and still be an unlawful lottery; it can be perfectly lawful and still get a post removed.

The structural decision that matters most

Prize plus chance plus consideration is a lottery, which private parties generally cannot run. Remove consideration and it is a sweepstakes; remove chance and it is a judged contest. Nearly every creator giveaway is meant to be a sweepstakes, and the whole game is keeping it one. The taxonomy is worked through in sweepstakes vs contest vs lottery, and the money question specifically in can you require a purchase to enter.

What your official rules have to carry

Your official rules are the terms every entrant accepts and the document you rely on if the outcome is disputed. Publish them before the first entry, at a stable URL, and do not edit them mid-promotion. The glossary entry lists the clauses; the short version is that a reader should be able to answer, without asking you: who can enter, how, until when, what they can win, how the winner is chosen and contacted, how long they have to respond, and who is responsible.

Pick your region on purpose

"Open worldwide" is the single most expensive sentence in a giveaway post. Each additional country adds its own promotion rules, shipping and customs reality, export restrictions, and tax treatment. Two concrete examples of why the region matters:

• New York and Florida require registration and a bond for game promotions where prize value exceeds a statutory threshold. Check the current threshold in the statute rather than a blog post.
• Canada adds a skill element by convention and a federal disclosure standard — see Canadian giveaway rules for creators.

Make the draw evidenceable

A random drawing holds up when the entry pool is frozen at close, duplicates and ineligible entries are removed on criteria you published, the selection itself is random, and the result is logged. Scrolling a comment list until you stop is neither random nor provable. If the first winner is disqualified or goes silent, draw the alternate the same way and keep that record too.

If a brand is involved, say so

A prize supplied by a brand, or payment to run the promotion, is a material connection. US endorsement guidance expects it disclosed clearly in the post itself, not in a reply or behind a link. This is advertising law, separate from everything above.

When to stop reading and call a lawyer

• Prize value is high enough to be near a registration or bonding threshold.
• The prize is alcohol, tobacco, firearms, cash, travel, tickets, or anything otherwise regulated.
• You are open to more than one country, or unsure which countries you are open to.
• A brand partner is imposing terms you cannot fully explain in your own words.
• Any entry route touches money at all.

Sources

• 18 U.S.C. § 1302 — Mailing lottery tickets or related matter — Cornell Legal Information Institute · Statute — Tier 1
• 39 U.S.C. § 3005 — Unlawful matter; false representations; lotteries — Cornell Legal Information Institute · Statute — Tier 1
• New York General Business Law § 369-e — Games of chance; registration — New York State Senate · Statute — Tier 1
• Florida Statutes § 849.094 — Game promotion in connection with sale of consumer products or services — The Florida Senate · Statute — Tier 1
• FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking — US Federal Trade Commission · Regulator guidance — Tier 2

Terms used on this page

• Sweepstakes
• Lottery
• Consideration
• Official rules
• Random drawing

Related guides

• Sweepstakes vs contest vs lottery: what creators are actually running — Three promotion types defined by prize, chance, and consideration — how US and Canadian law treats each, and the labels that do not change what you are running.
• "No purchase necessary" explained for creators — What consideration means, what makes a free alternate method of entry real rather than decorative, and how to word the free route in a post and in the rules.
• Canadian giveaway rules for creators (including the Québec change) — What changes when Canadians can enter: no paid entry, a skill element, adequate and fair disclosure — and why Québec's old publicity-contest filings ended on 27 October 2023.

Continue reading

• Instagram giveaway rules: required, prohibited, and recommended — Running creator giveaways