In terms of marketing gaming legislation, each country has its own rules and a range of specific standards that must be respected at the risk of legal sanctions.

Whether in terms of local regulations, ministerial authorisation, tax rules or the processing of personal data (even if on the latter point the GDPR has come to standardise the rules at European level), it is essential to be well supported by legal experts:

As an advertiser, you are legally responsible for ensuring that the standards in force in the country(ies) where you broadcast your game campaign are respected.

Indeed, it is not enough to translate and copy a regulation or legal notices into the language of the country to comply. First, it is necessary to ensure that local standards are fully respected so as not to incur sanctions, sometimes heavy both from a financial point of view and from a brand image point of view.

To help you better understand your future multilingual campaign and anticipate legal deadlines, you will find below some characteristics of local legislation, organised by country and dealt with in this article:

By default, French law makes all lotteries illegal through the Internal Security Code and in particular if you combine these conditions: the offer to the public, expectation of a reward, the intervention of luck, financial participation.

However, "ad lottery" type games are allowed provided they are respectful of consumers and do not require financial participation.

The Terms and Conditions must include:

In Belgium, games of chance are allowed but it is forbidden to advertise them.

To organise a game in Belgium legally, it must be possible to reclassify a game of chance as a "contest" by ensuring that it is not based exclusively on chance.

Be careful, there is no legal definition of a contest, but it is clear that a contest always involves a certain amount of randomness.

This part of randomness must always remain secondary, otherwise it could lead to a disqualification in "gambling" or "lottery".

A subsidiary question on a game of chance must follow strict rules.

It must:

It must not:

In Spain, drawing of lots are allowed but subject to specific tax regulations.

Companies wishing to organise a game in Spain must be subject to the country's VAT or have the competition promoted by a company subject to Spanish VAT.

In Italy, promotional games such as drawing of lots or skill games are allowed provided that they comply with local administrative and tax standards.

For example, it is prohibited to extend a game from another country to Italian territory. The promoter will have to organise a specific scheme and allocations for the Italian public. It will also be required to host all data related to the game on a local server.

The Netherlands allows the organisation of promotional games and as such distinguishes two types of games: the "Small Scale Promotional Games" and the "Regular Promotional Games of Chance".

Both can be drawing of lots but in the first case the prize pool must be a maximum of €4,500, while in the second case it can be between €4,500 and €100,000

Please note that rewards above €100,000 are prohibited.

In Poland, to organise a draw for commercial purposes, you will need a licence with a very complex process to obtain it.

It consists, among other things, in providing a bank guarantee and paying a flat-rate tax, the amount of which varies according to the value of the rewards involved.

Portuguese standards for competitions with rewards are very strict and involve many administrative formalities.

Ministerial authorization is required and may take time to obtain. The request must be made at least 15 days before the start of the game campaign, but this period may become much longer if the authorities decide to request additional information or the correction of the documents submitted.

In Germany, games of skill as well as games with drawing lots are allowed.

Germany also allows games with a purchase obligation. However, be careful that games should not be designed in such a way as to exert psychological pressure on consumers' purchasing decisions. Note also that double optin is a mandatory practice in Germany.

In the United Kingdom, the organisation of promotional games is authorised and the administration is very flexible in terms of games with rewards or lotteries, provided that certain local rules are respected.

In addition, the Cap Code, which contains guidelines for the organisation of sales promotion and direct marketing activities and facilitates their implementation, came into force in March 2011.

In Russia, contests and promotional lotteries are regulated by extremely restrictive laws.

These laws are complex and very bureaucratic even for local lawyers. They involve an analysis of the promotional supports by experts, who are responsible for checking the correct conformity of the mechanics.

Important: failure to comply with local rules exposes the promoter to severe penalties.

In the United States, games are allowed as soon as they fall into one of these categories: "Sweepstakes" (with drawing lots) and "Contests" (of merit). These games are subject to multiple state, federal and local laws and standards. The feasibility criteria and organizational methods depend on the location of the headquarters of the organizing company, the type of game, the value of the prize pool and the promotion of it.

As a general rule, contests with a purchase obligation are prohibited in the United States.

Although promotional games are theoretically allowed in Canada, it is also the country that applies the most restrictive standards for contests.

Such promotional measures require the completion of many administrative formalities, with resulting costs.

Following a legal void on the organisation of advertising games, a law 31-08, adopted in April 2011, filled the gap by providing a clear definition of competition games (article 60).

In particular, the law requires that the regulations be filed with the competent administration, but since the latter has not yet been officially created, it is strongly recommended to perform this operation with a notary.