The Prize + Chance + Consideration test comes down to one question for most promotions: is the winner chosen by chance or by skill? If it's chance, you're running a sweepstakes and must remove Consideration with a free entry path. If it's genuine skill, you're running a contest and can keep a purchase requirement — but the skill element has to be real, not a fig leaf over a random draw.
The federal baseline frames it precisely: a contest keeps Prize and Consideration and removes Chance (winners judged on merit), while a sweepstakes keeps Prize and Chance and removes Consideration (free entry). The format you choose dictates whether the AMOE is mandatory.
Real skill means a knowledgeable judge evaluates entries against an objective standard — photo, essay, or gameplay merit, for example. A "skill" contest where the winner is still picked randomly, or where the skill step is trivial, can be recharacterized as a sweepstakes and pulled back into the AMOE requirement. Make the judging meaningful and document it.
State law adds wrinkles even for contests in the four regulated states (New York, Florida, Rhode Island, Arizona), so check those pages if you promote there. And in Canada, even a contest needs a skill-testing question to avoid the chance element.
When in doubt about format, the safe default is to build a free-entry sweepstakes: it works regardless of how you'd judge a contest, and the compliance checklist will prompt every required item.