Prize Competitions

The prize competition sector has grown fast over the last few years. Luxury holidays, cars, camper van giveaways: there’s now a competition business for almost every kind of prize and customer. Low start-up costs and a lot of marketing upside have made it an attractive space for entrepreneurs.

Our Business Services team has built up real experience advising businesses in this area. For a long time these businesses operated with little regulatory oversight. That’s changing. A voluntary code is now in effect, and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is pressing to charge VAT, since competition entries don’t qualify for the usual exemptions. Both shifts will change how the sector works, and some businesses will adapt to them better than others.

How we advise

We advise prize competition and promotions businesses on:

• prize competition terms and conditions
• bespoke terms and conditions drafting
• legal opinion letters
• advertising standards and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Codes
• the impact of the voluntary code, and how to adapt the business to meet it
• compliance issues
• compliance with the Gambling Act 2005
• business structuring
• data protection
• commercial and brand protection

Prize competition businesses are becoming attractive targets in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market. If you’re thinking about preparing yours for sale, it’s worth a legal health check first.

How we help

We advise established businesses and new start-ups alike, and we can guide you through each step, including anything that comes up around compliance.

The rules around prize competitions have just tightened, and getting the terms right is now the difference between a business that scales and one that stalls.