CONTESTS vs. SWEEPSTAKES

Many people are confused about the difference between contests and sweepstakes. The basic difference is that contests are games of skill and/or intelligence, while sweepstakes are games of chance. Drawings and raffles are sweepstakes. Checkers, chess, baseball, puzzles and darts are contests.

Skill & intelligence - In a contest the winner is determined entirely based o­n skill and/or intelligence. You can improve your chances by becoming more skilful, by practicing, and by working carefully. A good and organised mind is always helpful.

Luck - In a sweepstakes the winner is determined strictly by luck. There is absolutely nothing you can do to improve your chances, other than following the rules.

Better odds - The odds of winning a sweepstakes are extremely small. In big sweepstakes the odds can be less than 1 in 10,000,000, sometimes less than 1 in 100,000,000. It is rarely even worth to enter. In our contests we usually have o­nly hundreds entries. Your chance of winning is typically around 1 in 5 and it totally depends o­n you. That is more than a million times better than many sweepstakes.

Entry fees - Since sweepstakes are games of chance, it is illegal to charge an entry fee. That would be gambling and gambling is illegal. Contests usually charge an entry fee. It is worth the fee because the odds are so much better.

Trickery - Sweepstakes often deliberately try to trick people. They make it look like your chance of winning is very high, when it is really very low. So sweepstakes have a very bad reputation.

Confusion - Some sweepstakes try to appear legitimate by calling themselves contests. This is very confusing to people. They cannot tell real contests; that is exactly what sweepstakes promoters want. Don't be fooled. Many people believe that it is illegal for contests to charge entry fees. This is because so many sweepstakes call themselves contests. Sweepstakes are not contests.

If you enjoy sweepstakes, enter as many as you like o­n the Internet, where they cost nothing. Never enter sweepstakes through the mails. If you want good winning odds, however, stick to genuine puzzle contests, and skip the sweepstakes. Puzzle contests are worth the entry fee because your chances of winning exist and are real.