Kiosks are not gambling devices and, therefore, they are not prohibited by Illinois state law. The sweepstakes featured on the Kiosks under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Prize and Gift Act which specifically allows for promotional sweepstakes of this kind.
1. The Company is in the business of distributing lawful product promotion kiosks that sells coupons allowing for various consumer goods to be sold at a discount when purchased in conjunction with coupons obtained from the Kiosks. In order to generate interest in the business and draw in new customers, the Company distributes, sells or otherwise possesses or allows for use of the Kiosks in Illinois.
2. The Kiosks stand-alone devices featuring several buttons, a touch screen and bill acceptor.
3. The Kiosks display ads on their cabinets and on their screens for a company who is in the business of selling products known as “Rivers”. After a Kiosk participant inserts a dollar bill into the machine’s bill acceptor, the Kiosk immediately prints a coupon worth twice the amount purchased (i.e., if a participant inserts a $1 bill, he is presented with a coupon worth $2). After the Kiosk prints out the discount coupon, the “sale” part of the transaction is complete. The purchased coupons can later be applied towards purchases either at the website.
4. After a user completes the coupon purchase, the Kiosk the awards the customer with free entries into a sweepstakes type promotion utilizing a random generator and a no purchase required entry method. The customer is not required to participate in the sweepstakes. And no purchase is required in order to participate in the sweepstakes. The sweepstakes type promotion is used to promote an interest in buying products from the Retail Business.
5. The sweepstakes are conducted on the Kiosk itself. The screen describes the sweepstakes and its rules on the video screen. A customer may instantly reveal the results of his entries by selecting the “Reveal Instant Winners” button on the terminal. Instead of an instant reveal, the customer may also reveal the results of his entries more slowly via an entertaining display of the customer’s choosing on the screen. The display choices include, but are not limited to, presentations which mimic the look of slots, poker, keno and bingo.
6. There is also a free method of entry described on the Kiosk screen. A participant may obtain free entries by following the directions on the Kiosk. After completing the digital form on the kiosk itself, the consumer is awarded free entries instantly. The Kiosk makes no distinction between entries granted after a purchase and those granted via the free method of entry.
7. Sweepstakes winners receive a ticket which may be exchanged for a cash prize.
