Scratch Off Sweepstakes Card Triggers Class Action

Back in the 1990s, lawsuits and regulatory actions against sweepstakes operators were legion. In the wake of these actions, and in a stunning lack of prescience, yours truly predicted the death knell for these types of consumer incentive programs. Fortunately for promotions lawyers like me, I was, of course, dead wrong: sweepstakes and contests of all kinds are still hugely popular — both on social media and in old-fashioned formats, as here. All those regulatory and private actions didn't dampen consumer and marketer enthusiasm but they helped to establish some important ground rules for how such programs should be structured and promoted. So is this new class action the bell weather of more promotions problems -- and more scrutiny -- to come?