Arizona — Sweepstakes & Promotion Law
Overseeing agency: Arizona Attorney General (Consumer Protection & Advocacy Section)
Bonding & registration
| Trigger | No bond or registration for pure chance-based sweepstakes. Skill-based contests tied to a product purchase must be registered with the Arizona Attorney General before conduct. |
| Surety bond / trust | Not required. |
| Filing lead time | Before conducting the contest (file with the AG). |
| Filing fee | None stated. |
| Winners-list filing | File winner information within 10 days of awarding prizes; sworn statement that no price increase was tied to the contest. |
No-purchase-necessary & AMOE
Like every U.S. state, Arizona follows the federal rule: a chance-based promotion must let anyone enter for free. If you let people enter by buying a product, you must also offer an Alternate Method of Entry (AMOE) with equal dignity — same odds, same deadlines, same number of entries as the paid path. Burying the free method in fine print draws regulatory attention.
Skill vs. chance
Arizona courts read "consideration" broadly — even social sharing or detailed surveys can be risky. Skill contests must be genuinely merit-based and registered with the AG under ARS § 13-3311 when tied to a purchase.
Notable state quirks
- Arizona gambling law is broad; a chance-based promotion that requires payment may be treated as illegal gambling.
- Restricted prizes (alcohol, firearms, tobacco) need extra permits or are prohibited.
Printable Arizona compliance checklist
Before you launch a prize promotion in Arizona, work through this quick checklist. For a formatted, state-specific file, open the Checklist Generator. Press Ctrl/Cmd + P to print this section.
- No purchase is required to enter — a free Alternate Method of Entry (AMOE) is offered with equal dignity (same odds, deadlines, and number of entries).
- Official rules state the prize, value, eligibility, start/end dates, and how winners are selected.
- If winners are drawn at random, the promotion is a sweepstakes — not a skill contest.
- Arizona has bonding / registration duties: confirm the threshold (No bond or registration for pure chance-based sweepstakes. Skill-based contests tied to a product purchase must be registered with the Arizona Attorney General before conduct.), surety bond or trust, and file before the promotion opens (Before conducting the contest (file with the AG).).
- Not sure whether your specific promotion must be filed? Run the Do-I-Need-to-File? checker.
Build a Arizona compliance checklist
Turn these rules into a printable checklist for your promotion.
Open tool →Do I need to file? (go-no-go)
Answer a few questions to see whether your promotion triggers state registration.
Open checker →Back to the laws hub
Federal baseline and the special-vs-baseline split.
Open laws hub →Source & verification
- Primary: Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 13-3311 (skill contests) — SprintLaw / WinBigDaily summaries
- Agency: Arizona Attorney General (Consumer Protection & Advocacy Section)
- Retrieved and verified: 2026-08-16. Laws change — confirm with the agency before launch.