Why do so many contests exclude Quebec?

[alajen]

I used to live in Montreal, so I wondered this myself.

Here is my best understanding of the main reasons...

Quebec's provincial regulatory body for lotteries operates under a different law than the rest of Canada - civil law (code civil). The rules make things more troublesome and time-consuming for companies to run contests in Quebec, so the province is often excluded when prizes are over $100.

What makes Quebec-run contests different?

* Contests must be submitted in advance to a regulatory panel for approval.

* Duties are charged based on prize value (for all prizes over $100). The board has the right to confiscate the prize as needed.

* long notification period in advance of contest launch date

* regulatory board sometimes requires that the company make a partial/full security deposit based on the value of the prize. This is to discourage fake contests, but means that the company potentially ties up double the funds (2x the value of the prize). So a $1000 prize could have them tying up an EXTRA $1000 in funds.

* the board has the authority to force the contest holder to hold in a trust account all deposit monies collected from the public until the prize is awarded. This is to prevent someone from holding a raffle, then running off with the ticket money. Financial records are required and are subject to audit.

All this amounts to a lot of work for companies wanting to hold a contest in Quebec, so some of them exclude Quebecers because it is too much hassle.

For the nerds among us, here is a borrowed link to the Quebec contest regulations. Start reading at Article 58.
http://pages.citebite.com/c1w3r8v8f9rjg

[bcteagirl]

Good post thanks! It really sucks that they are making things hard on themselves....

[alajen]

I guess they are just trying to make sure no one get cheated in a contest. Especially since most ask such personal information (name, address, phone, etc.)

[bcteagirl]

Yes, it would be a good policy if it was Canada wide...

[halleycat]

good post! I'm in Quebec and I was wondering too thx!

[jelyanne]

Because the rest of Canada doesn't like Quebec ^^

[pwwbear]

thanks

[cndlady]

bump

[bcteagirl]

bump!

[iced_faerie]

I always wondered why Quebec was excluded..

[Beast Master]

I sort of figured it was something like that, no surprise I guess, there are so many different rules there from the rest of Canada.