What is a game of chance surety bond? A surety bond is a three party contract in which a Surety company guarantees to a third party (Obligee) that a company (Sponsor) will fulfill some obligation. A Game of Chance surety bond is a particular type of surety bond that is required under certain circumstances by the states of New York and Florida guaranteeing that the sponsor will pay the prizes offered in the sweepstakes. Why do you need them? New York and Florida state law require any company that is offering a sweepstakes with a prize pool in excess of $5,000 to register and bond the promotion with the state. The laws are intended to protect consumers in those states from marketers who may offer prizes as an enticement to consumers, but default in their obligation to award such prizes to rightful winners. Who needs to bond and register sales promotions? Sales promotion agencies, industry attorneys and their clients who offer sweepstakes, games of chance and contests open to the residents of Florida, New York, Rhode Island and Arizona as well as the Province of Quebec. Florida and New York require registration and a surety bond for games of chance with a prize pool over $5,000. Rhode Island requires registration only of games of chance with a prize pool over $500. Arizona requires registration only of games of skill. Because Quebec requirements vary, please e-mail us at [email protected] or call us at (781) 994-6177 for further information regarding Quebec. When do you need them? The deadline for filing the registration and surety bond in New York is thirty days (30) prior to the beginning of the promotion. The deadline for filing the registration and surety bond in Florida is seven (7) days prior to the beginning of the promotion. Also, if a sponsor has run chance promotions in Florida for five consecutive years without incident, they may be eligible for a bond waiver. However, even if a sponsor receives a bond waiver, they still need to register the promotion. Why should you obtain bonds from HCCS? When you choose HCCS you get superior customer service, very competitive pricing, and twenty-four hour service, with same day electronic filing in Florida. More importantly, when you choose HCCS you are choosing to work with a company that has over twenty years of experience in the promotion-insurance industry. As your promotion insurance experts, we provide an additional layer of service by acting as your promotional risk managers. Our experienced staff reviews the promotion specifics and analyzes the rules to help you identify potential inherent risks and identify ways that these risks can be avoided or minimized. [Note that this service is not in the nature of legal advice, nor shall HCCS be liable for any errors or omissions in promotional documentation.] HCCS is the category leader for promotion-related insurance products. Our products include game of chance bonds as well as other products such as prize indemnity and over redemption insurance. How does registration and bonding through Insta-Bond work? The first step is to Become a Client. Once approved, you enter promotion information online, upload the official rules and New York, Florida, Rhode Island, Quebec and/or Arizona receive the filing the very next business day, with same day electronic filing now available in Florida. Insta-Bond executes all the paperwork for you, including the surety bonds. Insta-Bond also fronts the regulatory filing fees, performs a thorough review, and make filing changes and winners easy. How do we get started? Simply go to "Become a Client" to create an account. In order for us to bond and register your sweepstakes directly with the states, we will require the following documentation:
* Why are financials required? A sponsor/principal is required by the Obligees to obtain bonds for their sweepstakes. The purpose of the bond is to guarantee to the Obligee that in the event the sponsor does not pay, the surety company will pay. Therefore, as part of the underwriting process, we must first review a sponsor's financials in order to assess their financial stability. Underwriters must feel comfortable that a sponsor will not default in payment of the prize. A surety company has the right to agree to bond a sponsor or not based on its underwriting criteria. The sponsor must fulfill its promise to the consumers (and to the Obligees) to provide a prize(s), and a surety company is bonding a credit worthy company and guaranteeing to the Obligee that these services will be done. In most cases HCCS can obtain financial information automatically online or run a D&B report. Financials required are the most recently audited balance sheet, net income statement and cash flow statement. Once the paperwork has been received, HCCS will bond and register your promotion for same day filing with Florida and overnight delivery to other states. What happens when the sweepstakes is over? Once the prizes have been awarded and the winners' list has been filed with the states, the states should send you notification that they have closed the file. New York should send a letter referencing the promotion. Florida should normally send a letter and the original bond back. All you have to do is send HCCS a copy of the release letter and the original bond if you receive it so that we can let our surety company know that their obligation is over.