RIYADH — The Ministry of Commerce started taking punitive measures against some commercial establishments and individuals who organized lottery retail prize draws for commercial goods with a condition that consumers must purchase goods as a prerequisite to participate in the contest. The ministry summoned the erring commercial establishments and individuals to complete the legal measures against them before referring their cases to the Public Prosecution. The ministry stressed that commercial establishments and individuals should not compel consumers to purchase as a condition for participation in contests, offers and raffles organized by them, or put a contest voucher within the item, or to raise the existing price of the commodity during the contest. It emphasized that the payment of any amount or requesting the consumers to buy against the participation in the contest is one of the activities of lottery, which has been forbidden in the Kingdom as per the applied regulations. The ministry confirmed that lottery prizes, which are based on the requirement to purchase goods and products in exchange for obtaining cash prizes, entering prize draws, or distributing money within products offered for sale to consumers, are among the prohibited activities in the Kingdom. In accordance with the provisions of the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law and its Executive Regulations, it is prohibited to require purchase in commercial competitions as a condition for participation in such contests. The law also stipulates that competitions may not include anything that violates the principles of Shariah and customs observed in the Kingdom. The ministry stressed that it will intensify monitoring to ensure the compliance of commercial establishments and advertisers licensed by the General Authority for Media Regulation with the controls for organizing commercial competitions in accordance with the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law and its Executive Regulations. It also instructed not to organize any commercial contests or publish advertisements about them without obtaining a license for the same.
