Sweepstakes mailers, under attack in recent months by state and federal officials, are expected to be strongly defended later this month at a Congressional hearing on two House bills seeking tighter controls over sweepstakes promotions.
Among those expected to present that defense July 29 at a House postal subcommittee hearing on the Honesty in Sweepstakes Act (HR-170) and the Sweepstakes Protection Act (HR-237) are representatives of the Direct Marketing Association, the Magazine Publishers Association and the Promotion Marketing Association.
Those representatives, among others, are expected to basically reiterate comments they made earlier this year at a Senate hearing on the Deceptive Mail Prevention and Enforcement Act (S-335), now pending on the Senate floor after having been approved by its Commerce Committee earlier this month.
While defending the use of sweepstakes promotions before a Senate subcommittee, they agreed that some of the rules and regulations needed to be clarified and tightened to prevent consumers from misunderstanding solicitations to participate in a sweepstakes as a notice of having actually won a prize or award.
Although the wording of the two House bills is almost identical in requiring conspicuous notices on the envelope and enclosed written material that it is an offer to participate in a game of chance or sweepstakes, HR-170 clearly states that it would not pre-empt state laws regulating advertising or sales of goods and services associated with any game of chance while the other measure is silent on that issue.
Both measures, as well as the Collins bill, would increase the authority of the U.S. Postal Service to investigate and seize alleged deceptive sweepstakes mailings, and increase the civil and criminal penalties faced by deceptive mailers.
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