SLGA takes dim view of homeowner’s ‘Win My Place’ raffle
An online contest offering a chance to win a duplex unit on McKercher Drive in Saskatoon through an online entry costing $10 raises questions of legality for the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA.)
According to the Criminal Code of Canada, any gaming activity that takes place in Saskatchewan must be licensed by the SLGA to be considered legal, and licences are only granted to organizations considered to be charitable or religious — where the proceeds of any gaming activity would benefit a charity or religious activity.
“The ‘Win My Place’ raffle that is being published online for a home on McKercher Drive is not licensed by the SLGA, so our role is to regulate licensed gaming. Any sort of unlicensed gaming really is a matter for the police to consider,” said SLGA spokesman David Morris. “As it’s described on the website, it’s unlikely the SLGA would consider this activity charitable.”
The people behind the contest invited media coverage by issuing a news release earlier this week.
Morris said the SLGA will reach out to the contest promoters to explain that a licence is required, and to inform them about the eligibility requirements to receive one.
“Basically what’s happening is a person is paying for a chance to be considered for a prize, so according to the Criminal Code that constitutes gaming — but in the end that interpretation is really a matter for the police and the courts to consider.”
Erik Ozsvath, who is working as the contest’s promoter and is also the son of the homeowner, said they have had lawyers work through all the details of what he describes as a “promotional contest.”
“It’s not a lottery of any kind. My lawyers passed it by the Competition Bureau and everything, and everything is fine, actually,” he said. “A lot of companies run contests like this except in a different format; for instance, the Roll Up the Rim to Win competition from Tim Hortons — it’s very similar to this contest, legally speaking.”
The Win My Place contest was set up in hopes of selling enough tickets to cover the cost of the duplex unit, which the homeowners have valued at $375,000 — $147,000 more than the family paid for the home in November 2011. The contest rules state that if not enough tickets are sold to cover the value of the home plus any costs incurred to run the contest, the winner will instead walk away with a prize of $5,000.
Comparable duplex units currently for sale on the same street, with the same square footage, are listed at $239,000. When asked what kind of equity had been added to the home — which does not have a developed basement or any significant updates to the kitchen or living room — Ozsvath cited the addition of a “100 per cent organic garden in the backyard.”
When asked for further explanation for why the home was valued at such a high price, Ozsvath said, “That goes by opinion, as well you know. Every Realtor has a different opinion.”
When asked to provide an approximate number of tickets already been sold, he refused.
Because the contest requires a skill testing question — the winner has to correctly identify whether the home was built in the 1950s, 1980s or 2000s — and provides an opportunity for a free mail-in entry, it is not considered illegal gaming, Ozsvath said.
“We are not randomly choosing a ticket. We are randomly choosing an entrant to receive the chance to win the house by answering a math skill question — an STQ, they call it.”