Arizona Sweepstakes Laws: Rules & Requirements

Arizona free sweepstakes and photo/video contests: clear sponsor information, genuinely free entry and an accurate winner-selection method.

Planning a free giveaway or photo/video competition open to Arizona residents? This guide focuses on ordinary commercial promotions with free entry, including random drawings and submission contests using judges or public voting. Paid entries or votes, purchase-linked promotions, charitable raffles and regulated prizes need separate analysis.

Editorial review: September 11, 2026. Sources are linked beside the guidance they support. This is an informational overview, not legal advice for a particular campaign.

Keep an ordinary sweepstakes genuinely free

The Arizona Attorney General distinguishes legitimate sweepstakes from prize scams: a purchase or payment should not be required to enter or improve the chance of winning. Sponsors should identify themselves clearly and should not demand a prize-release or shipping payment from a supposed winner.

For an online giveaway, make the free entry path visible and keep the form, advertisements and winner messages consistent. Do not describe an invitation to enter as a notice that the recipient has already won.

Sources: Arizona AG sweepstakes guidance.

Free submission contests are different from amusement gambling

Arizona’s §13-3311 registration provision refers to a narrow purchase-linked amusement-gambling intellectual contest defined in §13-3301(1)(d)(iii). It is not a registration requirement merely because a free photo/video submission contest uses judges or public voting.

For a free submission contest, publish the judging criteria or voting method, eligibility, closing dates and tie-break process. Keep entry and voting free for the format covered here. Adding paid entry, paid votes or purchase-linked participation requires a separate analysis; do not treat registration as a universal route to legality.

Sources: Definitions in §13-3301; Narrow registration provision: §13-3311.

Registration and campaigns open to other states

For ordinary free commercial sweepstakes, the familiar prize-value filing regimes are in New York, Florida and Rhode Island. That does not remove Arizona's disclosure and conduct rules described above, or special rules for a different industry or format. See the registration guide and its sources for that distinction.

The state-law directory links to all 50 states and DC. A “void where prohibited” line does not itself define your eligible audience or complete a required filing.

Before opening entries

Use these practical drafting and administration steps alongside the applicable state rules:

• Identify the sponsor, eligible entrants, entry period and advertised prize.
• Explain the free entry method and how winners are selected. For submissions, describe judging criteria or voting stages and tie handling.
• Make advertisements, the form and full rules agree; do not imply an entrant has already won.
• Plan verification, notification and fulfillment, and retain the rules and selection records.

Federal advertising standards also apply. The FTC warns against misleading purchase prompts and prize claims; see its advertising guidance. Tax reporting and channel-specific rules are covered in the national sweepstakes guide.