ABSTRACT
The media sometimes try to increase viewing/circulation figures by running competitions. But competitions involve serious legal risks. Care must be taken to ensure that a competition does not take the form of a lottery. This is because, subject to very limited exceptions (for example, the National Lottery), lotteries are illegal under the Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976 (‘the Act’). The Act makes it a criminal offence to conduct an illegal lottery.
