Opt-in must not be bought with a prize or giveaway entry
The requirementstatement
A messaging opt-in must not be offered in exchange for entry to a prize draw, giveaway, raffle or contest.
- Severityseverity
- BlockingBLOCKINGBreaking this rule gets the submission rejected. There is no partial credit.
- When it bitesphase
- Gates approvalapprovalGet this wrong and the brand or campaign is refused at registration.
- What is checkedobject
- opt-in offer copy
- Where it liveslayer
- Consent flowCONSENT_FLOW
- How Ekas settles itdetectability
- AI · formAI_FORM
- A semantic question about what you wrote: whether a description matches a use case, whether a name looks like a filed entity. Judged by a model against written criteria.
- What the fix involvesfailureClass
- Fix the websiteTERMINAL_WEBSITE
- The fix lives on your site. No amount of rewording the form clears it.
- Who requires itauthorities
- TwilioCTIAT-Mobile
- When it appliesapplicabilityText
- Applies to every 10DLC registration.
Why this rule existsrationale
An opt-in given to enter a draw says nothing about wanting the messages, so the list that results behaves like a purchased one: high opt-out rates, high complaint rates, and recipients who do not recognise the sender by the second send. The research names this the highest-frequency trap for legitimate brands, because "enter to win — text WIN to join" is a normal-looking retail promotion that nobody involved thinks of as a compliance decision.
How to fix itremediation
Separate the two decisions: let people enter the draw without joining the list, and offer the messaging opt-in beside it as its own optional control with its own disclosure. Done when the entry form completes with the SMS box unticked and the prize is never described as what the opt-in earns.
A compliant exampleexample
☐ Enter me in the monthly Acme Coffee hamper draw. ☐ Separately, text me Acme Coffee offers. Consent is not a condition of entry. Msg frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to unsubscribe.
Common mistakespitfalls
- Making the draw entry the reward for opting in and the opt-in optional "in theory" still fails — the question is what the copy offers, not what the checkbox allows.
- A genuine sweepstakes can be registered, under the sweepstakes use case with official rules; what cannot be done is paying for opt-ins with entries.
Provider rejection codescodes
The code you get back when this rule is what failed, and whether that provider lets you resubmit.
| Provider | Code | Resubmit |
|---|---|---|
| Twiliogen2 | 30945 | No |
Notesnotes
Twilio 30945 is non-remediable at that provider — the campaign cannot be resubmitted once rejected for it — which is why catching it before submission matters more here than for most rules. Whether contest content in the samples needs the sweepstakes use case is MSG-155, not this rule.
Rules you will hit next
Other consent flow rules at the same severity. A registration is judged as a whole, not rule by rule.
CON-008The live CTA and the declared message flow must say the same thingBlockingBLOCKINGCON-010The three subscriber-management attributes must be declared trueBlockingBLOCKINGCON-013Subscriber attributes must agree with the message bodies suppliedBlockingBLOCKINGCON-023Evidence URLs must resolve without a loginBlockingBLOCKINGCON-024The opt-in URL must serve a certificate that verifiesBlockingBLOCKINGCON-027The opt-in URL must land on a page that carries the opt-inBlockingBLOCKING
CON-076 is one of 101 consent flow rules in the 915-rule 10DLC registry. Free to cite under CC BY 4.0.