Verizon Wireless sued for game show contests

The suit that began in early summer against Verizon Wireless for charging customers a premium for entry into TV promotional contests has entered the courts.

The class action suit states that Verizon Wireless' 99 cent charge to enter contests related to TV shows such as "Deal or No Deal," and "Sole Survivor" via text message are tantamount to illegal gambling. While the games were free to enter online, since nothing was given in exchange for the 99 cent text message entrance fee, the contest violated what is known as the Standard Lottery Rule.

That "rule" for promotions departments to uphold is that an illegal lottery contains three things: prize, chance, and consideration. By removing any of these factors, the contest becomes legal again.

This is the reason many promotional contests have "No Purchase Necessary" disclaimers.

In contract law, "consideration" is something of value that is either a detriment incurred by the person making the promise or a benefit to the other. In this case, the 99 cent fee given to Verizon Wireless was the consideration. Due to the standard cost of text messaging ranging from 5 to 20 cents, anything above that is considered a premium.

Verizon Wireless' service contracts actually have a clause banning class arbitration, but the Plaintiffs' legal representation holds that contracts are not involved in the case, rendering the ban unenforceable.