Florida has modified its laws for game promotions, no longer requiring full rules in print ads for chance promotions. The amendment has offered relief to promotion marketers who have at times avoided the state because of its cumbersome rules.
Last week, Governor Jeb Bush signed the bill, which updated Florida’s Game Promotion Statute 849.094.
The move will offer flexibility to promotion marketers who have long had to comply with the state statute that read that a game sponsor “shall publish the rules and regulations [of a game of chance] in all advertising copy.” Regulators interpreted the statement as requiring the “full” set of official rules in all print ads, the state said.
The revised statute now states that: “advertising copy need only include the ‘material terms’ of the rules and regulations, if the advertising includes a Web site address, toll-free telephone number, or a mailing address where the full rules and regulations may be viewed, heard, or obtained for the full duration of the game promotion. Such disclosures must be legible.”
The Promotion Marketing Association, which had been working on the issue with Florida, is pleased with the development, calling it a more “sensible” rule.
“This development acts as an incentive to let marketers advertise in Florida,” said Claire Rosenzweig, the president of the PMA. “If a sweeps is the promotion to help accomplish goals, now they can do it in a way that is more reasonable in Florida.”
Rosenzweig said the amendment is good for consumers as well.
“It gives consumers easy access to the full rules should they wish to view them,” she said.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will be working with the Promotion Marketing Association to create regulations defining “material terms.”
“We did not oppose [the bill],” said J. R. Kelly, the director of the division of consumer services for the department. “We feel that as long as the game promoters and operators out there make the effort to ensure that the full rules are easily accessible by the consumer, we’re happy.”
Kelly said that a workshop would be conducted on how to interpret and implement the amendment and he hoped that promotion marketing professionals and the legal community would participate in the process. He said his staff plans to meet this week to begin the rule making process and asked that comments be emailed to [email protected]. He hoped that a proposed rule could be released by the end of the month.
“Our goal is to make this as simple as possible,” he said. “We’re going to look to the industry to give us some good input.”
Until such regulations are implemented the state said “material terms” should include, at a minimum:
1. the fact that no purchase is necessary.
2. any eligibility requirements such as “must be 18 years of age or older and a legal resident of the 50 U.S. states and District of Columbia.”
3. the end date of the promotion.
4. A Web address, toll-free number or mailing address where the full rules and regulations can be obtained.
Gary Rutledge, a lobbyist for Kraft Foods, and an attorney at Rutledge Ecenia Purnell & Hoffman in Tallahassee, FL, filed the amendment, Kelly said. Rutledge had filed similar legislation last year, however the bill the amendment was attached to died. Calls to Rutledge were referred to Kraft.
Kathy Knuth, a spokesperson for Kraft, said, “We believe this is a positive outcome because it now makes the law consistent with other states.”
Filings and consumer complaints about game promotions in Florida have been down.
In 2002-2003, filings totaled 3,517 with six complaints, compared to 1,196 in 2004-2005 with five complaints. There were 2,384 enforcement actions in 2002-2003, with 469 fines imposed; this compares to 218 and 138, respectively, in 2004-2005.
Most of the complaints were about misrepresentations or from consumers who didn’t get a prize.
Kelly said that the department’s efforts to move into e-filing to streamline the registration process are moving forward. Late filings are a major area of concern for the state. An IT firm has been contracted to help develop an e-commerce filing system but no date for activation has been set.
“I am hoping that by October or November we should have the capability for an operator to file online with us,” he said.
Florida and New York have the most specific requirements regarding registration for games. The PMA’s Rosenzweig said that the association continues to track developments in New York as well as Florida.
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