Contests Exclude Quebec? Explanation
If you want to enter larger giveaways, but you live in Quebec, you’re not going to have the selection of Canadian contests that other residents of Canada do.
You may find in many Sweepstakes Rules the following wording “excluding residents of Quebec” tag line in the Eligibility section of any Giveaway Rules page.
This essentially means if you reside in the province of Quebec, you are not permitted to submit an entry, unfortunately.
Did you know there are over 8 million residents in the province of Quebec? That’s a massive population that brands/businesses are missing out on! You would want to think “WTH” or even maybe “WTF.”
“They sell that product here in Quebec – Why exclude us on the chance of winning?”
Why Are So Many Contests Void in Quebec?
Quebec’s Contest Law Is The Reason
It’s not the company excluding you ( as a Quebec Resident) for any particular personal reason – it all has to do with the regulations of Quebec laws that make it difficult to “market a sweepstake” in the province of Quebec. The companies are not being “prejudice” of the residents. It’s merely that the sponsor of any contest has to agree to the rigorous set of rules by the Regie des alcools, des courses et des jeux . The (RACJ) is the government body that governs contests, lotteries, Gambling etc.
Why does Quebec have strict Contest rules?
The “Contest laws” are put in place to protect the province’s residents from any possible scam. It treats any “Giveaway” as a Lottery. They want to make sure that the prize is awarded to the contest winner.
Sounds Good, Right?
But these “rules” cost the sweepstakes sponsor time and money, and the financial consequences of running a contest allowing Quebec to Enter without following the laws, and paying for the opportunity to offer a Quebec resident a chance to win are enormous.
What do the Contest Rules Look Like?
If your company is wanting to run a “contest,” You will need to follow 17 rules plus an application fee and taxes.
Here are some of the rules that the company will have to follow and pay for to allow Quebec residents to enter. :
- An Application Fee of 10% of the total prize value
- The Application must be made in French ( Possible Translation fee may result)
- Register with the Quebec regulations 30 days before the contest begins.
- Must publish the rules a minimum of a set amount of days before the sweepstakes begin
- and many more Read all the laws Rules respecting publicity contests.
The other provinces in Canada don’t have the same strict rules.
For any company ( big or small) that does not follow the Quebec Contest rules may result in fines or possible criminal charges, which most companies can not afford the penalties, so to avoid any possibility of any problem, a lot of companies will just “Exclude Quebec Residents” from participating in the sweepstakes to prevent any legal action.
Best Interest of Quebec
I know you are disappointed that you’re not allowed to enter into a good chunk of contests available to the rest of the country, but you can look at the Brightside – your government has the best interest for you.
Most of the “Strict” rules apply to the sweepstakes that have a total of a prize value of $2000 or more. So you can still enter giveaways, but you need to be the on look for contests or giveaways that are smaller in value.
That Sucks!?!
Well if you would like to complain about the sweepstakes Strict Ruling Regulations in the Province Quebec, there is the RACJ that you can register and submit your complaint or comment
What You Can Do about it
You probably can’t do too much! But you can always complain in an email to the RACJ and let them know how you feel about the strict regulations. Click Here to Email the RACJ
5 Responses
Terry I totally agree with you They are mostly all racist and rude and unfriendly. Like I say they should all leave and go to france or petition to segragate once and for all and be known as part of france or however it is done. My dad fought in WW2 under the Canadian flag BUT because of the french it was changed to a f=====g maple leaf mostly because of the damn frogs. YES I am racist BUT they are more so
As far as contests that some of Quebec complain about, they DO have some contests for Quebec only I myself do not think in Canada that when I phone companies I have to “press one for English) This is NOT France
@Terry, this is not true. Not everyone want to separate from Canada and almost every businesses serve you in french or english.
I invite you to visit the province. We are welcoming
Just remember, that this province is practicing “ethnic cleancing” in its attitude toward ENGLISH and other things Canadian. The premise of protection of the French langusge is just that… a pretext.
Further as to the fees, well… remember that the ;ahem’ corruption factor is not to be ignored.
After all, the “poor little official” needs his cut as well.
I live in this province and as much as it is a very beautiful place, it is less than welcoming to anyone who is not a Francophony.
Why would it matter? Quebec clearly doesn’t want to be a part of Canada anyway!! They won’t even allow the Canadian flag to be flown in that province. And most businesses won’t serve you unless you speak to them in French even though the mother tongue of this country is English. And they harass other store owners there who put helpful signs up in English — such stores are even boycotted. So why should they be included in Canadian contests? OH!! – however — when it comes to the Olympics, they want to compete to represent Canada!!! Go figure!! IMHO they shouldn’t be allowed to compete in the Olympics.