One of the most notable ways that sweepstakes and raffles differ is the requirement that sweepstakes offer a free method of entry. This article will explain why organizations must provide a free method of entry when they run a sweepstakes, how many people use the free method of entry, how it works, and what effect it has on the Campaign.
Why do I need to offer a method of free entry?
A sweepstakes must provide a free method of entry to avoid their classification as gambling. Most government agencies classify raffles as gambling because individuals are required to purchase a chance to win. Because sweepstakes require a free method of entry, the gambling classification is removed. (you can’t gamble for free!)
The primary benefit of avoiding gambling classification is that sweepstakes allow organizations to reach a vast audience because they have fewer geographical restrictions than raffles.
How Free Entries Work
All DoJiggy Sweepstakes display a list of official rules on the Sweepstakes page. The link to the free method of entry is included in these rules. To submit a free entry, people will need to:
- Locate the link in the rules.
- Click on the link and enter their email address.
- Fill out a form, which they’ll receive via email.
- Mail the form to the address included on the form to be entered into the drawing.
How many people use the free method of entry?
There are limitations in place, e.g., one entry per person, to prevent people from over-utilizing the free method of entry. In our Campaign, mail-in entries typically total less than one percent of the number of donation-based entries, and some sweepstakes receive no mail-in entries at all!
We find that most people are willing to donate to participate since the cause is charitable and that even those who enter for free learn about the organization and its cause.
How does the free entry affect my Campaign?
The alternate method of entry requirement impacts several aspects of a sweepstakes Campaign.
Drawing method
The winning entries must be drawn systematically at random by DoJiggy. There is no way for the organization to draw winners manually as is possible with a raffle.
Even though free entries are limited to one per person, the free entry receives the average number of entries donors have paid to enter the drawing. Calculating this by hand would be too complex and introduce the risk for human errors (which could make the drawing unfair). There is also no way to prove the drawing was done correctly should a gaming agency audit the drawing.
For the sake of fairness and simplicity, DoJiggy:
- Uses a certified random generator to calculate the average number of paid entries.
- Assigns the average number of paid entries to each free entry.
- Runs it through the drawing process to select a winner.
Mail-in entries inside 24 hours are auto-received
When a sweepstakes is running tight on time, there isn't always enough runway for someone to request a free entry, fill out the form, mail it in, and have an organizer manually mark it as received before the drawing. To make short-turnaround sweepstakes work, mail-in entries that move into "FormFilled" status within 24 hours of the drawing end date are now automatically marked as "Received" — meaning they'll show up in the View Mail-in Entries screen and will be assigned entries during the drawing without needing organizer intervention.
A few notes on how this works:
- The auto-received logic only kicks in after the entrant completes the form. Entries still sitting in "Requested" status (just an email submitted, no form completed) will not be auto-received.
- Mail-in entries requested more than 24 hours before the drawing still follow the existing flow — they stay in "Requested" / "FormFilled" until an organizer or admin manually confirms them as received.
Offline entries
DoJiggy permits organizers to sell Sweepstakes tickets offline and input them manually. See the following Knowledge Base article for more information: How to Add Sweepstakes Tickets That You’ve Sold Offline
Please note that anyone who purchases a Sweepstakes ticket offline MUST be informed of the free method of entry. You will need to give a legally binding acknowledgment that this requirement has been fulfilled when you add offline Sweepstakes ticket purchases.