The Attorneys General of 48 states and the Corporation Counsel for the District of Columbia have entered into a settlement with Time, Inc. requiring the company to change what it tells consumers in its sweepstakes mailings.
Time is one of the country's largest sweepstakes mailers.
Time sends out millions of pieces of mail annually, each of which offers consumers the opportunity to enter a sweepstakes. These mailings also offer consumers the ability to subscribe to one of the many magazines published by Time, Inc. or buy one of the Time-Life books, or the audio or video collections produced by Time. The Sweepstakes Facts will include a statement that buying won't help the consumer win the sweepstakes, that the consumer has not yet won, and that the consumer doesn't have to buy anything to enter the sweepstakes, as well as giving the odds of winning a prize. Additionally, under the terms of the agreement, Time will not be able to misleadingly state that a consumer is or is about to become the winner of a sweepstakes, misleadingly tell consumers that they have a better chance of winning a sweepstakes than they actually do, or represent that the sweepstakes package has been sent by special courier or a special class of mail if it has not been sent. Participating in today's settlement were the Attorneys General of the States of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming and the Corporation Counsel for the District of Columbia.