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"Preliminarily, you should be aware that the Attorney General's Office cannot provide advice to private citizens about legal matters. Our office does, however, try to be as responsive to citizen inquiries as possible by providing general guidance on laws that may apply. To that end, although I cannot offer you specific advice, I can only inform you of certain Maryland laws that could impact on these types of contests. Specifically, you should be aware that these contests may violate the Maryland law prohibiting the operation of a lottery in this State."
In general, Maryland law broadly prohibits the operation of lotteries in this State, except for games operated by the Maryland State Lottery Agency. The operation of an illegal lottery is a misdemeanor with a possible punishment of up to $1,000 per offense or imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both the fine and imprisonment. See Md. Ann. Code, Art. 27 §§ 356 - 371B (1996 Repl. Vol.). There is also an additional civil remedy for persons who pay money for illegal lottery tickets, certifications or other devices. Md. Ann. Code, Art. 27, §359. In Maryland, the laws prohibiting the operation of a lottery are to be liberally construed. Md. Ann. Code, Art. 27, §368. In addition, federal law prohibits mailing lottery tickets and advertising a lottery through the mail. See 18 U.S.C. 1302."
"What constitutes a lottery is sometimes a difficult question. The elements of a lottery are the payment of money or other consideration for the opportunity to win a prize awarded by chance. Mid-Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Co. v. Chen, Walsh & Tecler, 296 Md. 99, 460 A.2d44(1983); Silbert v. State, 12 Md. App. 516, 280 A.2d 55, cert. denied, 263 Md. 720 (1971). In most cases of proposed essay contests, the individual is sponsoring a contest in which entrants pay a fee (consideration) for the opportunity to win a house (prize). The elements of an illegal lottery under Maryland law (chance) is a more difficult question. Maryland courts have never ruled on this specific issue, and this letter is not a formal opinion of the Attorney General. Individuals should be aware, however, of the possible consequences involved if such a proposed enterprise were ruled to be an illegal lottery."
"Many individuals attempt to characterize their essay contests as a 'contest of skill,' and indeed, there is some minimal degree of skill involved in writing an essay contest. There is also, arguably, a more predominant and controlling element of chance involved in winning this contest. The standards for judging a good essay from a bad one are very subjective, and it would appear to be predominantly by chance that an entrant would arrive at the right combination of factors that would appeal to the judges of the contest. If this element of chance were found to be the basis for winning such a contest, that contest would be an illegal lottery. Some of the factors that would seem relevant to the issue of whether a particular contest is based on chance versus skill are: whether the judges have any particular expertise in the area; whether the judges are both able to and actually do make a meaningful evaluation of each entry submitted; and whether the entry is of sufficient length to be truly judged on its merit."
"In Maryland, at least, the laws prohibiting the operation of a lottery are to be liberally construed. Md. Ann. Code, Art. 27, §368. Therefore, it is quite possible that the courts would construe these types of essay contests to be illegal lotteries. Because the prohibitions against lotteries in Maryland are also criminal, the decision to prosecute a violation of those laws is the prerogative of the State's Attorney of the jurisdiction where the violation occurs. Therefore, anyone intending to sponsor these types of contests may wish to contact the State's Attorney in the particular County regarding an opinion on this issue. These individuals may also wish to seek their own legal counsel."
"Although this is not a formal opinion of the Attorney General, I hope this information has been helpful to you."
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12/17/01