A big change in a small state may have made your skill contests easier: Vermont has amended its Contests and Sweepstakes law to permit marketers to require a purchase as part of a contest. The amendment took effect on April 26, 2013.
The amended law permits skill contests to require "an entry fee, service charge, purchase, or similar consideration." Previously, an advertiser who conducted a contest requiring a purchase had to prohibit Vermonters from entering. Now, if a marketer structures a bona fide skill contest to require a purchase of its product (e.g., via submission of a proof of purchase), the marketer will no longer need to void Vermont, and Vermonters will be able to participate. While marketers should welcome this change, they should still be mindful of the few remaining states with restrictions on requiring a purchase to enter, or be eligible, for a contest. We caution our readers also to remember that requiring a purchase to enter a sweepstakes (without a free alternate method of entry) is never permissible, whether in Vermont or any other state.
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