# Giveaway Hosting Guidelines
What prizes am I allowed to give away?
Generally, you are allowed to choose any price that fits the occasion and feels appropriate. There are only a few limitations. You are not allowed to give away or endorse products or services which do not comply with the
Disallowed are the following categories of prizes:
- Alcohol
- Bank account passwords, stolen credit cards, or other financial information
- Counterfeit documents or currency
- Controlled narcotics and other drugs
- Explosives
- Organs
- Endangered species or parts of endangered species
- Firearms or firearm accessories
- Nicotine, including vaping products
- Online gambling sites
- Pharmaceuticals without a prescription
- Sex or escort services
- Unlicensed medical services
- Human smuggling
- Illegal products or services
- Products or services promoting hate-speech or violence
- Cryptocurrencies, ICOs or Airdrops
We reserve us the right to remove any other content which we perceive as harmful or inappropriate in the context of a giveaway.
Can I require additional actions from my participants to win a prize?
No. You are not allowed to expect any additional requirements outside the return toolkit. return giveaways are intended to reward previous support and loyalty. Actions such as "Subscribe to my channel", "Like and comment under my video", "Follow my other social media account", "Share this giveaway", "Purchase one of my merchandise items" or similar can not be requirements to join or win the giveaway. Of course you can still encourage your viewers to do these things, they just can't be a requirement to be able to join or win.
Your contest must be free of charge to enter. Do not require a participant to pay money or purchase anything to enter the giveaway.
There are some valid restrictions you can make though. Valid restrictions are restrictions that are directly linked to a specific prize or legal / logistical limitation. Valid restrictions would be for example:
- Winners need to be in a specific region
- Winners need to be available on a certain date and time
- Winners need to agree to being on camera / published to YouTube
- Winners must have a specific training or license
- Winners must have reached a certain age
What content (text, images, videos, ...) can I use for my giveaway?
Generally speaking, you are free to include any content of your choice. You can be as creative as you want. But the content has to comply to the following rules:
- You have to have all required rights for the texts, images and videos (content) you want to upload and use on our platform. Do not use content that you do not own the copyright to
- Your content can not include any pornographic content depicting sexual acts or nudity
- Your content can not include violent content intended to shock or disgust
- Your content can not include hateful, propagandistic, or racist content
- Your content is not allowed to mislead, deceive or manipulate participants into wrong expectations
What do I have to do if my giveaway is sponsored?
You have to disclose this information. This has to be done in the giveaway you create on return as well as other places outside of return such as in a YouTube video where you promote the giveaway.
You can find detailed information in our
Are there other rules or legal obligations I need to consider?
Yes. You can find a list of them below. You can click each entry to get additional information.
In this
- You have to comply with YouTube’s
Privacy Policy ,Terms of Service andCommunity Guidelines . - Don't infringe upon the rights of others. For example, don't use copyrighted material if you don't have a license to do so; If you give away third-party prizes, disclose that the promotion is not endorsed by them (except if it is, of course).
- Your contest must be free of charge to enter.
- Do not manipulate any of YouTube’s metrics such as likes, comments, subscribers (e.g. by making a subscription a requirement for people to enter the giveaway).
- Don't suggest that YouTube is involved with or has endorsed your contest in any way.
- You must have a set of Official Rules that govern your promotion. We have created a
guide how to write your giveaway rules . In there it is explained which things must be contained in your rules and we provide atemplate you can use.
In this
This means that if you run a giveaway on return, you must not ask users to comment on your videos, subscribe to your channel, or take any other action that distorts the YouTube metrics in order to gain an advantage in the giveaway.
This
You should comply with the laws and regulations of each country your giveaway can be entered from. Do some research regarding the laws regarding giveaways of your own country / state and any other countries you allow people to enter from. If you want to be extra safe, consult a lawyer.
Do not use any material in your giveaways (e.g. images) for which you don't have the copyright. You need to have all the required rights to use the content with which you fill your giveaway.
Disclaimer:
return does not give any guarantees for the given advice (e.g. regarding correctness or completeness)! We can not give you legal advice. The contents of this section are intended to convey general information only and not to provide legal advice or opinions and should not be construed as, and should not be relied upon for, legal or tax advice in any situation and may not reflect the most current legal developments. No action should be taken in reliance on the information contained in this section and we disclaim all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any or all of the contents of this section to the fullest extent permitted by law. You should always conduct your own research or consult a lawyer.
What happens if I violate these guidelines?
Based on the severity of the violation of our policies we reserve us the right to temporarily or permanently suspend your account from our platform. We may remove parts or all of the content you have submitted to our platform.
Important:
Some violations might also affect your YouTube channel as a violation of our policy might also constitute a violation of the Google or YouTube policies and can also result in a suspension of your YouTube channel. For detailed information please read the