Promotional Competitions Tip #1: Make sure the catch is captured!
Earlier this year, South African cricket spectators at the Betway SA20 matches could win their share of up to R1 million in cash prizes (which was doubled by Betway to R2 million during the competition period) with a clean, one handed catch off a six in the ‘Betway Catch a Million’ competition. Talk about a life changing catch?
Outside the realms of traditional advertising, promotional activities have become an increasingly popular way for business to strengthen market awareness of the brands that they represent. Typically, the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (the CPA) governs and stipulates the requirements for consumer facing promotional activities conducted by a promoter (the party that is directly or indirectly responsible for promoting the competition) in the South African market. There are certain requirements that a promoter needs to meet in order for promotional activities to be conducted in a lawful manner. One of these CPA requirements is that a set of terms and conditions should be drawn up that details who can participate, what a participant needs to do in order to enter and what a participant can win. These terms and conditions should also be readily available to the participants (for example on the website or social media pages of the business).
Betway, for example, had some comprehensive terms and conditions that applied to the ‘Betway Catch a Million’ competition in order for participants to be eligible to claim their share of the winnings. These included that a participant had to be 18 years or older (a regulatory requirement since Betway is an online gaming and betting agency) as well as the specific requirements for a catch to constitute a “Winning Catch” in the competition. These terms and conditions were readily available and published on both Betway and SA20 websites to ensure participants were aware of the requirements to qualify for winnings in this competition.
Drafting and publishing a set of terms and conditions for promotional competitions that falls within the scope of the CPA, is critical for businesses to govern their requirements for the competition and to prevent or limit any reputational fall-out, disputes or potential legal liability.
Imagine for a minute that Betway did not have a clear, well drafted set of terms and conditions that specified what constituted a “Winning Catch” and participants tried to claim winnings for any type of catch during one of the matchdays….Betway could potentially have been on the hook for a lot more than R2 million!
Stay tuned for Parts 2 to 4 of this series on promotional competitions.