EXECUTION My friend built an ad-supported cash giveaway site with free entry. 18% of winnings go to charity!

[Guest24480]

I'm sharing this because I immediately thought it was an amazing idea and I wanted to see what you fastlaners thought about it.

It believe it took him about a weekend to build and since the site was put up earlier today, the jackpot has already climbed to over $1k.

The jackpot is completely fueled by ads which makes entry into the giveaway completely free for the general public. 18% of the winnings go to a charity of the winner's choice, and it has gained a ton of traction already because for every person you refer it to your entries double.

I'm only posting it because it is a great example of getting out there and building something tangible without putting a whole lot of time into it. A great example of getting your feet wet and taking action.

I will post a link below to the site, but just as a warning it is a referral link. That's how the site works. I figured if I was going to share the site as an example of taking action then I might as well post my referral.

https://thebigcashgame.com/UGM5BFVZLL

Moderators, if that's not okay then feel free to remove the link from my post or delete my post altogether.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

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[phenom4hire]

Wouldn't this be considered a type of lottery/raffle? What is the legality of this? Similar ideas have crossed my mind in the past but I always came across legality issues. Interested to see what becomes of it.

 

[Silverhawk851]

Interesting concept

How is he finding advertisers?

What is their retention rate?

What kind of traffic is he seeing?

 

[Charnell]

Wouldn't this be considered a type of lottery/raffle? What is the legality of this? Similar ideas have crossed my mind in the past but I always came across legality issues. Interested to see what becomes of it.

As far as I know, which I don't, to be considered a lottery/raffle the contestants need to actually purchase something. My guess is this is no different then the contest MJ runs on the inside. You just have to show up.

 

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[phenom4hire]

That makes sense. I may have jumped the gun a bit. I don't think they would view your click as a form or purchase for entry or anything so it probably is legit. Im no expert either. Either way cool concept.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I'm not lawyer but I'm going to guess that it's totally illegal depending on the state of residence.

Did your buddy consult a lawyer first?

Lemme guess... NO.

Also, since "consideration" is given (your email address) it could possibly fall into raffle/lottery territory.

The above is not legal advice but shall be represented as an opinion on a business model.

 

[TonyStark]

This totally doesn't seem legal at all...why do you think you're so excited about it? Only a matter a time before it gets shut down.

 

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[garyk1968]

I'm not a lawyer but looked into doing a prize draw system some years back and got some advice.

In the UK I think this would be legal as you aren't charging for entry.

If you were charging for entry it would be deemed a lottery and the gambling laws were actually amended to protect the National Lottery. In the UK the only way you can get around charging entry into a prize draw is to make it skill based, there is a company which sells tickets to win supercars and they do this with a 'spot the ball' competition.

 

[Crissco]

As far as I know its illegal as well. 18% goes to charity, what about the rest? Is he pocketing it? - From what I was told when I had an idea like this as well that if its going to charity 100% needs to go or else its fraud. I honestly don't know 100% facts on what I just said but like everyone else is saying it does seem illegal.

 

[Charnell]

As far as I know its illegal as well. 18% goes to charity, what about the rest? Is he pocketing it? - From what I was told when I had an idea like this as well that if its going to charity 100% needs to go or else its fraud.

Read the website.

 

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[Crissco]

Where is the money going?
60% of the Grand Prize will go to the winner. The winner must donate 18% of their winnings to a charity of their choosing. The remaining percentage goes to us, the creators of thebigcashgame.com, because, well, why not?

---What if they winner doesn't donate to charity?....Seems like a gray area with the site. Personally I wouldn't do it.

 

[mrarcher]

Yeah I would agree on the illegal side of things. Even raffles for various causes need to get a licence from the local council. (In the UK.) I cant see America being much different.

 

[Guest24480]

Interesting concept

How is he finding advertisers?

What is their retention rate?

What kind of traffic is he seeing?

I'm not quite sure. I would have to ask him as I'm not involved in the project personally

I'm not lawyer but I'm going to guess that it's totally illegal depending on the state of residence.

Did your buddy consult a lawyer first?

Lemme guess... NO.

Also, since "consideration" is given (your email address) it could possibly fall into raffle/lottery territory.

The above is not legal advice but shall be represented as an opinion on a business model.

Fair enough. I didn't even consider the legality issues when I originally posted this but it's definitely something to look into.

Where is the money going?
60% of the Grand Prize will go to the winner. The winner must donate 18% of their winnings to a charity of their choosing. The remaining percentage goes to us, the creators of thebigcashgame.com, because, well, why not?

---What if they winner doesn't donate to charity?....Seems like a gray area with the site. Personally I wouldn't do it.

My understanding was that the charity donation would be facilitated by the developers of the site, and that the winner would simply recieve the 60% and indicate to them which charity they would like to donate to.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

The remaining percentage goes to us, the creators of thebigcashgame.com, because, well, why not?

Wow.

Well if I was a betting man, I'd guess there's a 99% chance its illegal, might even be considered fraud.

 

[mrarcher]

Wow.

Well if I was a betting man, I'd guess there's a 99% chance its illegal, might even be considered fraud.

What odds you offering?

 

[E-Sharp]

"The remaining percentage goes to us, the creators of thebigcashgame.com, because, well, why not?"

I also doubt legality, but thought the site at least read pretty well up until that part ^. Instant turn-off.

 

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[Gsuz]

Amazing idea! On a $1000 prize the winner gets $492 and the creators $400.

That said, there is a reason that licensed online casinos and sportsbetting companies have whole teams of lawyers.

 

[Crissco]

Wow.

Well if I was a betting man, I'd guess there's a 99% chance its illegal, might even be considered fraud.

Ok thought so, I was pretty much on point with what I said then....By the way I added you to FB a while ago

 

[JDawg]

What the heck. Did you guys see what was at the bottom of the page:


"Too good to be true? Think this is a scam? We probably would too... but would a scammer post a picture of a panda eating cake?"

 

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[Mineralogic]

I'm not lawyer but I'm going to guess that it's totally illegal depending on the state of residence.

Did your buddy consult a lawyer first?

Lemme guess... NO.

Also, since "consideration" is given (your email address) it could possibly fall into raffle/lottery territory.

The above is not legal advice but shall be represented as an opinion on a business model.

can't believe he didn't know this. tons of business ideas are illegal right off the bat nowadays or overegulated

 

[IGP]

NiftyLabs.co is the creator and the founder, Liran is in NY... So, if anyone knows NY law you will have your answer.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I've bookmarked the site just in case I need to explain the difference between a "business" and a "scheme" to someone in the future.

 

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[mrarcher]

I think this is the law that would apply from http://www.gambling-law-us.com/State-Laws/New-York/
Sec. 225.10 Promoting gambling in the first degree.

A person is guilty of promoting gambling in the first degree when he knowingly advances or profits from unlawful gambling activity by:

1. Engaging in bookmaking to the extent that he receives or accepts in any one day more than five bets totaling more than five thousand dollars; or

2. Receiving, in connection with a lottery or policy scheme or enterprise,

(a) money or written records from a person other than a player whose chances or plays are represented by such money or records, or

(b) more than five hundred dollars in any one day of money played in such scheme or enterprise.

Promoting gambling in the first degree is a class E felony.

 

[Guest24480]

NiftyLabs.co is the creator and the founder, Liran is in NY... So, if anyone knows NY law you will have your answer.

I think this is the law that would apply from http://www.gambling-law-us.com/State-Laws/New-York/
Sec. 225.10 Promoting gambling in the first degree.

A person is guilty of promoting gambling in the first degree when he knowingly advances or profits from unlawful gambling activity by:

1. Engaging in bookmaking to the extent that he receives or accepts in any one day more than five bets totaling more than five thousand dollars; or

2. Receiving, in connection with a lottery or policy scheme or enterprise,

(a) money or written records from a person other than a player whose chances or plays are represented by such money or records, or

(b) more than five hundred dollars in any one day of money played in such scheme or enterprise.

Promoting gambling in the first degree is a class E felony.

Okay so I talked to one of the creators again who is aware of this thread and he wanted me to make some clarifications on his behalf.

Nifty Co. LLC is registed in the state of Delaware and the site by legal definition is a "sweepstakes". Therefore, as mrarcher pointed out, the contest is void where prohibited in New York as well as Rhode Island and Florida, but completely legal in other respective jurisdictions.

With that said, he is considering making a few tweaks to the copy as suggested in this thread. I promise they were just lighthearted jokes, but I can see how it could have turned some people away.

I wouldn't classify it as a scheme by any strech, although it isn't necessarily fastlane to the standards of this site. The advertisers are supporting a charity by contributing while at the same time gaining exposure. Entry for participants is completely free, so it's not like they're swindling money from participants. I don't see any harm being done to anyone, especially if it's legal.

Anyway, the site has over 34,000 entries so far and it's only a few days into the project. There has to be some value in that. They are clearly doing something right.

However, I firmly respect everyone's opinions, and hopefully I clarified some things for you guys.

 

[IGP]

You

Okay so I talked to one of the creators again who is aware of this thread and he wanted me to make some clarifications on his behalf.

Nifty Co. LLC is registed in the state of Delaware and the site by legal definition is a "sweepstakes". Therefore, as mrarcher pointed out, the contest is void where prohibited in New York as well as Rhode Island and Florida, but completely legal in other respective jurisdictions.

With that said, he is considering making a few tweaks to the copy as suggested in this thread. I promise they were just lighthearted jokes, but I can see how it could have turned some people away.

I wouldn't classify it as a scheme by any strech, although it isn't necessarily fastlane to the standards of this site. The advertisers are supporting a charity by contributing while at the same time gaining exposure. Entry for participants is completely free, so it's not like they're swindling money from participants. I don't see any harm being done to anyone, especially if it's legal.

Anyway, the site has over 34,000 entries so far and it's only a few days into the project. There has to be some value in that. They are clearly doing something right.

However, I firmly respect everyone's opinions, and hopefully I clarified some things for you guys.

An LLC (Limited Liability Company) is just that, an entity that protects your liability. It doesn't preclude you from criminal activity.

It may be legal in others states, but how are they preventing the people of NY, etc. from participating in the "sweepstakes".

This is the same deal that Draftkings and FanDuel is dealing with and Online Poker before that.

 

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[redsfaithful]

11 years ago: http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/

I don't think this twist is very clever for the legality reasons everyone else is talking about. This half makes me wonder if internet things from 10+ years ago could be redone since apparently nobody remembers them.

Now that I think about it, GoFundMe is just Save Karyn at scale:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Save_Karyn