Account Coordinator Lindsey McLaughlin contributed to this post to help us better understand how easy it is to run a Puerto Rico sweepstakes!
Legal restrictions used to keep companies from running a sweepstakes in Puerto Rico. However, in 2009 Puerto Rico lifted their tedious sweepstakes requirements, which now makes it easier to include them when running a promotion. Here is what you need to know to make a Puerto Rico sweepstakes legal.
Legal Review: Prior to 2009, any company that was contemplating including Puerto Rico in their instant win game had to build time into their approval process to have the official rules and game pieces reviewed and approved in Puerto Rico. Many brands simply did not have the resources to meet this requirement so they would exclude Puerto Rico. The changes in 2009 removed this requirement and opened the door for companies to include Puerto Rico without additional time and expense.
Posting of Rules: Before 2009 posting the Official Rules to a web page would not meet the legal standard for posting rules; companies had to pay to have the rules posted in a newspaper or read on the radio. Now you can post rules online!
Spanish Language: It used to be that any sweepstakes that was being offered in Puerto Rico had to have rules available in Spanish. But again, thanks to the changes in 2009, the Spanish language requirement no longer applies when posting the official rules. English only rules are fine – but Spanish rules are a great option to include if you can.
Clearing Winners: Clearing winners in Puerto Rico used to be a slow process because each potential winner had to be contacted by post only, and then you had to allow 30 days for a response. Potential winners can now be contacted via email and phone instead of only snail mail. If a potential winner does not respond to a notification, the admins can move onto new alternates in days instead of weeks, and finalize their winners list faster. This streamlines working with winners in Puerto Rico.
Running a Puerto Rico sweepstakes today is muy fácil compared to what it used to be like, but you will still need the help of a promotional marketing expert like Marden-Kane to help guide you through drafting official rules and administering the promotion. Contact us and we can make the process even easier!
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