The role of a sweepstakes agency in ensuring global compliance

Why expert support matters when your campaign goes international

Running a sweepstakes across borders gives brands an exciting way to expand and tap into new markets. However, international promotions have many complexities as sweepstakes laws vary from one country (or even state) to another. Lack of compliance can result in the promotion being shut down or even lead to huge fines and damage to reputation.

Whenever you want to run a regional sweepstakes or contest, you need to involve a sweepstakes agency. These aren’t just promoters, but strategic partners that ensure that your campaign is legal and achieves the desired results.

In this piece, we’ll walk you through the different roles sweepstakes agencies play in international campaigns.

Why compliance can’t be an afterthought

When a sweepstakes crosses borders, it becomes subject to the sweepstakes rules of each country it operates in. The problem is that these vary from one country to another.

All this makes compliance difficult, but you also can’t risk non-compliance. It will open you up to big risks that can even threaten your business’s existence.

Here’s why you need to ensure legal compliance:

• Regulatory fines and forced shutdowns: Non-compliance can result in huge penalties or cause your campaign to be shut down.
• Data privacy violations: If you collect data and fail to adhere to relevant regulations such as the GDPR, you open the door to legal claims, which can be huge. You’ll also suffer reputational damage.
• Public backlash: If you don’t meet obligations because your rules were unclear, participants will speak up online. This can result in a broader brand trust issue.
• Wasted resources: All the effort and finances you put into the different aspects of the campaign can easily go to waste when legal missteps force you to shut down.

A sweepstakes agency helps avoid all these in different ways.

What a sweepstakes agency actually does

The job of a sweepstakes agency in international promotions is more than just ticking a legal box. It’s responsible for ensuring that your campaign runs smoothly and is well-received.

Country-by-country legal assessment

When you are doing it yourself, it’s easy to forget a country, fail to be thorough, or misunderstand its rules. An agency ensures that before the campaign goes live, it maps out all legal requirements in each target market. They review the sweepstakes laws, value thresholds, registration requirements, and duty obligations. And even if you have a legal team that can do this, an agency has a significant advantage in that it has done that for other clients.

Official registrations and filings

Some countries will require you to get government approval to run games of chance. These come with their own set of challenges, such as partnering with a local entity, which makes the process more complicated for businesses. A sweepstakes agency handles the whole process on your behalf. It deals with the deadlines, partnerships, submitting documents, securing approvals, and appointing local representatives. You are free to handle the creative side.

Terms & Conditions drafting and localization

Most businesses often get it wrong in the fine print, as they need to cater to different countries, but also ensure uniformity. Otherwise, giving an unfair advantage to one country while trying to make it legally compliant may make the campaign illegal in another. A sweepstakes agency helps draft clear T&C that ensure legal compliance, and it also translates them. Not just into different languages, but also to different cultures.

Tax compliance and prize fulfilment

Giving away a prize may seem straightforward, but it comes with tax implications and logistical challenges. In some countries, you’ll need to declare customs or pay a duty. In others, there is a strict timeline for when the gift should be delivered. A sweepstakes agency oversees all these.

Data protection and consent

International promotions involve collecting data from different regions, but each has its own data privacy laws. For example, there’s the GDPR in Europe, the LGDP in Brazil, and the CCPA in California. You need a sweepstakes agency to ensure that you get proper consent and comply with all data privacy laws in different countries.

This will protect your campaign from shutdowns and your business from fines and reputational damage. It will also make your campaign smoother and help it achieve the desired goal, whether that’s brand visibility or engagement.

Looking to run an international sweepstakes without second-guessing the rules?

Promosfera has run thousands of promotions in 85 countries, and it can help you launch legally sound, locally adapted campaigns across Europe and beyond. Reach out to build your next promotion with confidence!