Time and time again we see businesses running contests on their Facebook pages, that are all usually simply being run with the objective to boost their page ‘likes’, but are in essence being run incorrectly and are contravening not just rules and regulations as prescribed by Facebook, but may also not be in line with guidelines as stated by Australian State lotteries or regulators’ contest regulations. Running an online competition (or lottery) in Australia requires you have the correct permits to do so. Whenever a business is running a contest, or sweepstakes they should be contacting their state lotteries office to see what the regulations are and if competition permits and any specific Terms and Conditions are required. The Australian Government website has references.
Many contests that have prizes worth under $5000 do not require permits (please check your state lotteries department) but do require you to have Terms and Conditions available for entrants and outline the formal ways of communicating winners and distributing prizes. Simply running ‘like’ this page and ‘share’ this post to offer up prizes to a random Facebook follower is not only contravening Facebook’s terms, it could be in some cases illegal.
As the competition or contest manager on behalf of a business, it is your responsibility to ensure that the competition or contest is being properly set up and regulated. This is as much to protect you and your business from any breach or libel action from consumers.
Let’s focus on Facebook’s terms, as outlined below. It must be understood that it has developed this set of regulations to protect itself. Remember Facebook is not running or responsible for your promotion, and that you are using its platform to run your contest. You should in the very least respect what it is asking of you, and in most cases it is simply asking you to use a third party to run your contests (properly and formally) and to indemnify Facebook from the promotion.
By using Facebook to run or administer a promotion (such as a contest or sweepstakes), you are responsible for the lawful operation of that promotion, including the official rules, offer terms and eligibility requirements (i.e. age and residency restrictions), and compliance with regulations governing the promotion and all prizes offered in connection with the promotion (i.e. registration and obtaining necessary regulatory approvals).
It is important to note that simply complying or agreeing to these guidelines does NOT constitute the lawfulness of a promotion. Promotions are subject to many regulations that vary from country to country and in Australia, from state to state. If you are not certain that your promotion complies with applicable law, do you research and consult your state lotteries or regulation commission office or with an expert.
Specifically, Facebook states:
i. Promotions on Facebook must be administered using a third party app i.e. Apps on Facebook.co, on a Canvas Page or a Page App – we can recommend Woobox or Shortstack.
a. A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant.
b. Acknowledgment that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.
c. Disclosure that the participant is providing information to [disclose recipient(s) of information] and not to Facebook.
iii. You must not condition registration or entry upon the user taking any action using any Facebook features or functionality other than liking a Page, checking in to a Place, or connecting to your app. For example, you must not condition registration or entry upon the user liking a Wall post, or commenting or uploading a photo on a Wall.
iv. You must not use Facebook features or functionality as a promotion’s registration or entry mechanism. For example, the act of liking a Page or checking in to a Place cannot automatically register or enter a promotion participant.
v. You must not use Facebook features or functionality, such as the Like button, as a voting mechanism for a promotion.
vi. You must not notify winners through Facebook, such as through Facebook messages, chat, or posts on profiles (timelines) or Pages.
vii. Definitions:
a. By “administration” we mean the operation of any element of the promotion, such as collecting entries, conducting a drawing, judging entries, or notifying winners.
b. By “communication” we mean promoting, advertising or referencing a promotion in any way on Facebook, e.g., in ads, on a Page, or in a Wall post.
NOTE (and yes, pages have been shut down because of this): Facebook reserves the right to reject or remove Pages for any reason. The terms are subject to change at any time.
Seeing every other business running contests incorrectly is no reason you should. Using the apps are pretty easy and cost very little to give you great functionality and comply with regulations.
Based in Geelong, GOOP can help with online marketing strategies including website development Australia-wide.