

JAXx

aka Stephen

Premium Member

join:2000-03-31

New York, NY JAXx Premium Member Canadians must pass a "skill test" to win a prize at Godiva



From the official rules at godiva.com:



Canadian entrants who are identified as potential winners must correctly answer, without assistance of any kind, a time-limited math question by telephone prior to being verified as a winner & receiving prize.



Read at » I can't believe this. Someone please explain this lunacy!From the official rules at godiva.com:Canadian entrants who are identified as potential winners must correctly answer, without assistance of any kind, a time-limited math question by telephone prior to being verified as a winner & receiving prize.Read at » www.godiva.com/heartsonf ··· ode.aspx and click "offical rules"



noelstrom

meh.

Premium Member

join:2003-04-07

London, ON noelstrom Premium Member Canadian law. You can't get something for free in a contest. You have to do the skill testing question.



bylo

Premium Member

join:2004-05-04

Waterloo, ON bylo to JAXx

Premium Member to JAXx

said by JAXx:



I can't believe this. Someone please explain this lunacy!... potential winners must correctly answer, without assistance of any kind, a time-limited math question by telephone I can't believe this. Someone please explain this lunacy!... potential winners must correctly answer, without assistance of any kind, a time-limited math question by telephone



But just so you know, these sorts of "skill"-testing math tests are something like, "what is 123 x 456 - 789?" And since you're doing it over the phone, the only way they'll know you're cheating is if your calculator has a loud, clicky keyboard As Noelstrom says, it's the law in TROC. (Even with a test the contest is void in Quebec.)But just so you know, these sorts of "skill"-testing math tests are something like, "what is 123 x 456 - 789?" And since you're doing it over the phone, the only way they'll know you're cheating is if your calculator has a loud, clicky keyboard



donoreo

Premium Member

join:2002-05-30

North York, ON donoreo to JAXx

Premium Member to JAXx

Any contest it is the same. The do make the questions very simple, but they need to follow the law. I think the reason is so that you have to do something and technically you are not getting something for nothing.



Moonman2

Shootin' You The Moon

Premium Member

join:2001-12-30

Melbourne, ON 1 recommendation Moonman2 Premium Member said by donoreo:



I think the reason is so that you have to do something and technically you are not getting something for nothing. I think the reason is so that you have to do something and technically you are not getting something for nothing. So then...why don't politicians have to answer a skill testing question before they pick-up their pay checks?



Robert

Premium Member

join:2002-03-11

St John'S, NL Robert to JAXx

Premium Member to JAXx

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sk ··· question quote: Skill testing questions are a legal requirement attached to many contests in Canada.



The combined effect of Sections 197 to 206 of the Canadian Criminal Code bans for-profit gaming or betting, with exceptions made for provincial lotteries, and licensed casinos and charity events. Many stores, radio stations, and other groups still wish to hold contests to encourage more purchases or increase consumer interest. A classic example of such a contest is Tim Hortons' Roll up the Rim to Win, that gives chance to win prizes with every cup of coffee purchased, with prizes ranging from vehicles to doughnuts. These organizations take advantage of the fact that the law does allow prizes to be given for games of skill, or mixed games of skill and chance. In order to make the chance-based contests legal, such games generally have mathematical skill-testing questions incorporated.



The most common form that these questions take is as an arithmetic exercise. A court decision ruled that these must contain at least three operations to actually be skill testing; for example, a common question might be "(2 × 4) + (10 × 3)" (Answer: 38). Enforcement of these rules is not very stringent, and especially for small prizes, the player may not be required to answer the skill-testing question to claim a prize. Anecdotally, getting the answer wrong is also often not an obstacle to claiming a prize. For contests held in the United States or other countries that are open to Canadians, the questions must also be asked of any Canadian winner.



The same section of law prohibits receiving consideration in exchange for playing the games, resulting in a related peculiarity of Canadian contests: the "free entry alternative", which is usually telegraphed by the fine print "No purchase necessary". Generally this means that it is possible to enter the contest for free by, for example, writing a letter to the entity sponsoring the contest and requesting a game piece or entry form.







donoreo

Premium Member

join:2002-05-30

North York, ON donoreo Premium Member Ok, so that is sort of what I was saying. I knew there had to be a wiki article on it, but I was too lazy to go look



JAXx

aka Stephen

Premium Member

join:2000-03-31

New York, NY JAXx Premium Member Bizarre. Why a game of chance is more palatable b/c someone answers a math question is weird - i see the logic, but not the purpose.



BA

MVM

join:2001-05-24

Vancouver, BC BA to JAXx

MVM to JAXx

Prize. Chance. Consideration.



If you have these three in your game, then it's an illegal lottery. Prize and chance are obvious. Consideration means you have to buy something, be somewhere, or do something special to participate.



Godiva has a "no purchase necessary" option which allows people to participate in the game without paying any valuable consideration. Therefore, it's no longer an illegal lottery. By adding a skill-testing question, which typically looks like "(4 x 2) + (10 - 3)" it becomes a game of mixed skill and chance. The question is asked in person. Such a game no longer becomes illegal because they're giving away something based on skill and chance instead of pure chance and consideration.

Fundy

Premium Member

join:2004-02-18

Nova Scotia Fundy to JAXx

Premium Member to JAXx

Yup the Americans have some bizarre rules too.



Canada lottery winnings are generally tax free. USA taxes all lottery and contest winnings. Quite a significant bite if you win the million dollars as in Survivor.



Moonman2

Shootin' You The Moon

Premium Member

join:2001-12-30

Melbourne, ON 2 edits Moonman2 Premium Member said by Fundy:



USA taxes all lottery and contest winnings. Quite a significant bite if you win the million dollars as in Survivor. USA taxes all lottery and contest winnings. Quite a significant bite if you win the million dollars as in Survivor.



»www.thesmokinggun.com/ar ··· ch1.html True enough...just ask Richard Hatch...charged and convicted with tax evasion.