## Facts

- MTV Networks ran the “VH-1 Corvette Collection” national sweepstakes from August 12 to October 11, 1989 to increase viewership.
- The sweepstakes offered over 20,000 prizes; the grand prize was either (1) a collection of 36 Corvette automobiles (1953–1989) or (2) a 1989 Corvette plus $200,000.
- Entrants could participate as often as they wished and were eligible for daily prizes.
- MTV Networks offered three entry methods, each providing an equal chance of winning:
  - Calling a “900” number with a $2.00 charge per call;
  - Requesting a toll-free “800” number by mail and entering by phone;
  - Mailing an official entry blank obtained at music stores or promotional events.
- Participation included approximately 1,232,224 total entries, with most entries made through the paid 900-number method.
- Barry Glick, a losing participant, alleged the sweepstakes was an illegal lottery under New Jersey law because the paid 900 calls supplied unlawful “consideration,” and he claimed the promotion was structured to steer entrants toward the paid method and make free entry more difficult.
- After removal from New Jersey state court and transfer to the Southern District of New York, the parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment on whether the sweepstakes violated New Jersey gambling/lottery law.

## Issues

1. Whether a sweepstakes constitutes an illegal lottery under New Jersey law when one entry method requires a $2 paid call but alternative free methods of entry are available and provide equal odds of winning.
2. Whether alleged practical discouragement of free entry methods can supply the “consideration” element required for an illegal lottery where free entry remains genuinely available and equally effective.

## Decision

- The court granted MTV Networks’ motion for summary judgment and denied Glick’s cross-motion.
- The court held the sweepstakes did not constitute an illegal lottery under New Jersey law because entrants were not required to provide consideration to have a chance to win.
- The court concluded that the existence of free entry methods that provided an equal chance of winning defeated the “consideration” element, even though many entrants chose the paid method.

## Legal Principles

- Under New Jersey law, an illegal lottery generally requires prize, chance, and consideration.
- When participants are not required to pay or provide something of value to enter, the consideration element is not satisfied.
- A promotion does not become an illegal lottery merely because it offers a paid method of entry, so long as a genuinely free method of entry is available and provides an equal chance of winning.
- Disparity in how often entrants use paid versus free entry methods does not, by itself, establish unlawful consideration where the free methods are real and equally effective.

## Conclusion

The court ruled that the VH-1 sweepstakes was not an illegal New Jersey lottery because payment was optional and the free entry methods were genuinely available and afforded the same probability of winning as the paid 900-number entry.


Glick v. MTV Networks, 796 F. Supp. 743 (S.D.N.Y. 1992)