Would you like to set up an online competition around the European Cup or Olympic Games, or capitalise on other marketing opportunities during the summer? Then you’ve come to the right place! Qualifio and Lawbox have joined forces to make your job easier and help you draw up competition rules that are 100% compliant with current Belgian legislation!

That’s right! Competitions are subject to complex rules designed to prohibit games of chance and to protect consumers. Complete, tailor-made competition rules will help you avoid many pitfalls, particularly when it comes to awarding prizes or preventing your competition from being targeted by cheats or “contesters”.

Does my competition comply with Belgian legislation?

The rules governing competitions in Belgium distinguish between several categories of games, in particular :

  • Lotteries, i.e. games where the participant is completely inactive and the winner is chosen by chance;
  • Games of chance, where the participant is active (for example, by answering questions) and where chance plays a predominant role in determining the winner;
  • Competitions, i.e. games in which the participant, in addition to behaving actively, is able to influence the results by using his or her skills.

The first two are prohibited or regulated in Belgium. So, at the very least, be sure to add a subsidiary question (for example: “How many participants will there be in this competition?”). This will help you to decide between the participants.

3 golden rules for organising a competition

  • Respect the principles of consumer protection, particularly regarding the transparency of information. A competition is a form of advertisement, so consumers must be informed and not be misled about its essential elements.
  • Ensure your competition complies with privacy protection provisions (particularly the GDPR) whenever personal data is processed and collected. For example, the organiser’s privacy policy must be brought to the player’s attention if you intend to use the e-mail addresses collected during registration for direct marketing purposes. In this policy, essential information must be communicated: the purposes for which the data is collected, how long the data is retained, players’ rights in relation to their data, etc.
  • Finally, draw up rules and ensure participants can access them easily. It is also advisable to have them tick a box to confirm that they have indeed read (and accepted) the rules in question before taking part. Magnificent rules are useless if they cannot be used in the event of a problem. To be able to enforce them against the player, they need to have read them and accepted them (a bit like a contract, where the signature is replaced by the “tick box”).

Important to note: the competitions are intended for adults only. Minors may only take part if they have the express authorisation of both parents or their legal guardian. If a minor participates, we consider that they have obtained this authorisation. Without proof of this authorisation, the minor’s participation may be cancelled at any time.

Help! I don’t know where to start writing my competition rules…

Launch date, competition period, the date on which the winner is announced, how the competition is run, the value of prizes, conditions for taking part… To protect you as much as possible, your rules must be complete and tailored to your competition. You should also be careful about any additional rules that may apply in certain cases, for example, when the competition is organised on social media such as Facebook (which publishes its own rules).

Don’t let all these factors discourage you! Competitions allow you to interact with and engage your digital communities, increase your audience, promote your products and/or services, qualify and segment your databases, build customer loyalty and reward your customers, and improve your brand image. It would be a shame to miss this opportunity to unite your community.

Lawbox is an online tool that allows you to create all types of personalised legal documents in record time and at a very affordable price. You can also benefit from legal advice and assistance services if you need them. On the Lawbox website, you can answer a questionnaire in just a few clicks and generate customised competition rules using templates validated by lawyers! You can also find many other legal documents at http://www.lawbox.be.

If you’d like to learn more about the rules for Facebook competitions, read our advice in this article!