Sweepstakes FAQ

In the U.S., sweepstakes sponsors are very careful to disassociate themselves from any suggestion that players must pay to enter, as this would bring them into conflict with federal lottery laws. Sweepstakes typically involve enticements to enter a consumer promotion for prize that range from fantastic wins such as cars or large sums of money to smaller prizes that are currently popular with consumers in the United States such as Apple iPods. There should be no monetary cost to the entrant to participate for the sweepstakes prize drawing (although some online sweepstakes require entrants to subscribe or promotional mailing list) and sweepstakes winners should also not be required to pay a fee of any type to receive their prizes. wikipedia