In the November/December issue of Taxation of Exempts, Cristina Vessels and Melissa Landau Steinman published "What’s in a Word: Understanding the Differences Between, and Navigating Key Challenges for, Charitable Raffles and Sweepstakes." The following is an excerpt:
To the untrained eye, a “raffle” is a “sweepstakes” is a “giveaway” is… any one of a variety of prize promotions. Even sophisticated marketing teams may conflate these terms in their push to draw attention to their campaigns, tout their charitable giving efforts, and generally increase their visibility with consumers. But the downside to using these terms interchangeably to signify what is, ultimately, a game of chance is that these buzzwords may draw the attention of state and federal regulators, too. And the way you structure and conduct your campaign can have serious repercussions for your company in both the court of law and the court of public opinion.