Don’t Let Your Contest Become A Compliance Risk: A Practical Guide For Businesses

You planned the perfect contest. Great prize, strong engagement, your audience is excited. You hit “post,” and then months later, you get a letter from the Competition Bureau.

Sound far-fetched? Not necessarily. Following a recent news release from the Competition Bureau of Canada, businesses and influencers (each, a “Contest Sponsor”) offering promotional contests may see increased enforcement attention from regulators and should, therefore, ensure their contests are reviewed for compliance.

The news release included reminders about key legal obligations under the Competition Act applicable to Contest Sponsors with respect to the administration of their promotional contests in Canada. The Competition Bureau affirmed its position on the mandatory information that Contest Sponsors must disclose to contest participants and cautioned against providing false or misleading contest information. Consumers were reminded that they can use the Competition Bureau’s self-reporting mechanism if