LOTTERY LAW
Is Elon Musk’s “Earn a Prize” an illegal lottery? A CROSS-BORDER ANALYSIS OF AMERICA PAC’S US$1M-A-DAY GIVEAWAY FROM MARK BALESTRA
in court that the giveaway was not, in fact, random. America PAC had carefully selected the winners, each of whom had to agree to be a paid spokesperson for America PAC’s petition. Media communications about the campaign from America PAC and Musk did contain sporadic references to acting as a spokesperson being a condition of receiving the prize, but this was far from clear. What’s more, the word “random” was being thrown around liberally. Setting aside the election law fireworks and the potential false advertising issues, seasoned gaming lawyers might have raised an eyebrow for a different reason: was this an illegal lottery? To date, this spectacle has generated no less than five separate lawsuits in various states, one of which even dealt with the illegal lottery question – albeit in the limited context of deciding a motion for injunctive relief.
Introduction In the lead-up to the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election, Elon Musk’s political action committee, America PAC, launched a campaign that quickly drew both public attention and legal scrutiny. The campaign began with a petition titled “petition in favor of free speech and the right to bear arms,” with cash rewards offered to those who provided their personal information and referred other registered voters to do likewise. The incentive started at US$47, 1 later increased to US$100 for Pennsylvania voters and referrers, 2 and ultimately culminated in a headline-grabbing promise: US$1 million would be randomly awarded to one signatory every day until the election. 3 (We will refer to the US$1 million award portion of the campaign as the “giveaway.”) At least, that was how the campaign was widely understood. Details later emerged
1 https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/musk-pac-signature-47-pay-refer-swing-state-voters-sign-petition-rcna174310 2 https://www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-offers-pennsylvania-voters-100-sign-donald-trump-petition-presidential-election-1971021 3 https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/elon-musk-raises-payment-offer-100-voters-sign-petition-rcna176075
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IMGL MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2025
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