Official Rules
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.
A VENMO ACCOUNT IN GOOD STANDING WHERE USER HAS COMPLETED IDENTITY VERIFICATION WITHIN THE VENMO APP (SEE SETTINGS FOR DETAILS) IS REQUIRED TO RECEIVE A PRIZE. PARTICIPATION AND RECEIPT OF THE PRIZE IS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE VENMO USER AGREEMENT. BY PARTICIPATING IN THE SWEEPSTAKES YOU AGREE TO THESE RULES, WHICH ARE A CONTRACT, SO READ THEM CAREFULLY BEFORE PARTICIPATING. WITHOUT LIMITATION, THIS CONTRACT INCLUDES INDEMNITIES TO THE SPONSOR FROM YOU.
1. Eligibility: Venmo Back to School Sweepstakes (the “Sweepstakes”) is open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia who are at least eighteen (18) years old at the time of entry. While a Venmo account is not necessary to enter (see mail in entry method); Entrants must have a Venmo account in good standing to receive a prize. Employees of PayPal Inc., Merkle Inc., and their parent and affiliate companies as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible. The Sweepstakes is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited. Participation constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules. Sponsor’s decisions are final and binding in all matters related to the Sweepstakes. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.
2. Sponsor: PayPal, Inc., 2211 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95131. Administrator: Merkle Inc., 3000 Town Center, Floor 21, Southfield, MI 48075.
3. Timing: The Sweepstakes begins on August 14, 2023 at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time ("ET") and ends on August 31, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. ET (the "Promotion Period"). Venmo's servers are the official time-keeping devices for the Sweepstakes.
4. How to Enter: There are two (2) ways to enter. During the Promotion Period:
a. Complete a Referral through the Venmo Mobile App:
Participation Requirements: You must have an active Venmo Account throught the Venmo Mobile app. Your profile must include your full first and last name.
Steps to Complete a Referral: Open the Venmo App on your mobile device, go to the “Me” tab and scrool down to tap on “Share Venmo with your Friends.” Confirm your agreement to these Official Rules, and follow the instructions to access your personalized referral link. Share this link with eligible friends (herein “Friend,” defined below) using any available method. You will automatically receive one (1) entry into the Sweepstakes for each Friend who makes a “Qualifying Payment” (defined below) during the Promotion Period:
A Friend is anyone who is a resident of the 50 US (D.C.), is at least 18 years of age and meets the following requirements:
i. Friends who have never had a Venmo account
ii. Friends who have a Venmo account, but have never been active on Venmo (never sent or received a payment); or
iii. Friends who have a Venmo account, but have not been active in the last 12 months
A Qualifying Payment is defined as follows:
i. Friend uses Venmo to make a payment of at least $5 to another user (payment cannot be made back to the person who referred the Friend);
ii. The Venmo payment is funded by a bank account, debit or credit card; and
iii. Venmo sign up (if required) and payment must be made within 14 days of the receipt of the referral link.
Standard message and data rates may apply. Please consult your wireless service provider regarding its pricing plans prior to entering using your wireless mobile device.
You may share this link with as many Friends as you would like. However, you can only receive ten (10) entries into the Sweepstakes, even if you have more than ten Friends who complete a referral. Please note, sponsor is also offering a $10 payment for completed referrals (up to a max of ten (10) to both entrant and referee. See Terms for this Offer within Venmo’s help center.
b. Enter by Mail (no referrals needed): Print your name, address, phone number, email address, Venmo Account handle and mobile number (this is OPTIONAL) and date of birth on a piece of paper and mail it in an envelope with proper postage to Venmo Back to School Referral Sweepstakes,” c/o Merkle Inc., P.O. Box 5964, Department 859264, Kalamazoo, MI 49003- 5964 . Limit: One (1) entry per envelope. All mail-in entries must be postmarked by August 31, 2023 and received by September 7, 2023. All entries become the exclusive property of Sponsor and none will be acknowledged or returned. Proof of sending or submission will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by Sponsor. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, illegible, misdirected or postage-due entries, which will be disqualified.
Entry Limit: You may receive of up up to ten (10) entries by any combination of entry methods. Any attempt by any entrant to obtain more than the stated number of entries by using multiple/different Venmo Accounts, email addresses, identities, registrations and logins, or any other methods will void that entrant's entries and that entrant may be disqualified. Use of any automated system to participate is prohibited and will result in disqualification. In the event of a dispute as to any registration, the authorized account holder of the Venmo Account used to register will be deemed to be the entrant. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses used to create the Venmo Account. Each potential winner may be required to show proof of being an authorized account holder.
5. Prize Drawing: Sponsor will randomly select the potential Sweepstakes winners from all eligible entries received during the Promotion Period on or around September 14, 2023. Potential winners who entered by making a Venmo referral will receive notification when their prize is delivered. Potential winners who entered by the mail in method will be notified by email and will be required to create a Venmo account (if they do not already have one) and provide their Venmo account handle and mobile number associated with their Venmo account for purposes of prize fulfillment within three (3) days of the date notice or attempted notice is sent, in order to claim the prize. If a potential winner of any prize cannot be contacted or fails to provide any other requested information within the required time period, or the prize is returned as undeliverable, the potential winner forfeits the prize. Receiving a prize is contingent upon compliance with these Official Rules. In the event that a potential winner is disqualified for any reason or forfeits the prize, Sponsor will award the applicable prize to an alternate winner by random drawing from among all remaining eligible entries. Only three (3) alternate drawings will be held, after which the prize will remain un-awarded
6. Prizes:
TWO HUNDRED (200) PRIZES: $500 transferred into winner’s Venmo account. Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”): $500
Venmo Accounts must remain in good standing through the time of prize award. Prize is subject to the terms of the Venmo User Agreement. Prize amounts will be distributed within approximately ten (10) business days of verification of all winners. If winner does not accept or use the entire prize, the unaccepted or unused part of the prize will be forfeited, and Sponsor will have no further obligation with respect to that prize or portion of the prize. Prizes are non-transferable and no substitution will be made except as provided herein at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize for one of equal or greater value if the designated prize should become unavailable for any reason. Winners are responsible for all taxes and fees associated with prize receipt and/or use. Odds of winning a prize depend on the number of eligible entries received during the Promotion Period. Limit: one (1) prize per person. Total ARV of all prizes: $100,000.
7. Release: By receipt of any prize, winners agree to release and hold harmless Sponsor, Administrator, and their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, distributors, advertising/promotion agencies, and prize suppliers, and each of their respective parent companies and each such company’s officers, directors, employees and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any claim or cause of action, including, but not limited to, personal injury, death, or damage to or loss of property, arising out of participation in the Sweepstakes or receipt or use or misuse of any prize.
8. Publicity: Except where prohibited, participation in the Sweepstakes constitutes each winner’s consent to Sponsor’s and its agents’ use of winner’s name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions and/or hometown and state for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration.
9. General Conditions: Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Sweepstakes, if any fraud, technical failures, human error, or any other factor impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Sweepstakes, or any event or cause beyond Sponsor’s control (e.g. events such as natural calamities, national emergencies, wide spread illnesses, declarations of war, acts of God, acts of terrorism) interferes with any aspect of the Sweepstakes, including but not limited to fulfillment of the prize(s), as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. In such event, Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may elect to hold a random drawing from among all eligible entries received up to the date of discontinuance and may modify the prizes offered herein. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Sweepstakes or to be acting in violation of the Official Rules of this or any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.
10. Limitations of Liability: The Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by entrants, printing errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Sweepstakes; (2) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Sweepstakes; (4) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Sweepstakes or the processing of entries; (5) late, lost, undeliverable, damaged or stolen mail; or (6) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrant’s participation in the Sweepstakes or receipt or use or misuse of any prize. If for any reason an entrant's entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, entrant’s sole remedy is another entry in the Sweepstakes, if it is possible. No more than the stated number of prizes will be awarded. In the event that production, technical, seeding, programming or any other reasons cause more than the stated number of prizes as set forth in these Official Rules to be available and/or claimed, Sponsor reserves the right to award only the stated number of prizes by a random drawing among all legitimate, un-awarded, eligible prize claims.
11. Agreement to Arbitrate: Entrant agrees that any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Sweepstakes or any prize awarded, including without limitation federal and state statutory claims, common law claims, and those based in contract, tort, fraud, misrepresentation or any other legal theory, shall be resolved exclusively through final and binding arbitration, rather than in court, except that the claimant may assert claims in small claims court, if the claims qualify and so long as the matter remains in such court and advances only on an individual (non-class, non-representative) basis. This Agreement to Arbitrate is intended to be broadly interpreted. The Federal Arbiration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this Agreement to Arbitrate.
Arbitration is more informal than a lawsuit in court. Arbitration uses a neutral arbitrator or arbitrators instead of a judge or jury, and court review of an arbitration award is very limited. However, the arbitrator can award the same damages and relief on an individual basis that a court can award to an individual. The arbitrator also must follow the terms of this agreement as a court would. All issues are for the arbitrator to decide, except that issues relating to arbitrability, the scope or enforceability of this Agreement to Arbitrate, or the interpretation of the Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief section below, shall be for a court of competent jurisdiction to decide.
The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (referred to as the "AAA") under its rules and procedures, as modified by this Agreement to Arbitrate. The AAA’s rules are available at www.adr.org. In the event that the AAA is unavailable to administer the arbitration, another administrator will be selected by the parties or by the court.
The arbitration shall be held in the county in which you reside or at another mutually agreed location. If the value of the relief sought is $10,000 or less, either party may elect to have the arbitration conducted by telephone or based solely on written submissions, which election shall be binding on the parties subject to the discretion of the arbitrator to require an in-person hearing, if the circumstances warrant. In cases where an in-person hearing is held, either party may attend by telephone, unless the arbitrator require otherwise.
The arbitrator will decide the substance of all claims in accordance with applicable law, including recognized principles of equity, and will honor all claims of privilege recognized by law. The award of the arbitrator shall be final and binding, and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
Payment of all filing, administration, and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA’s rules, unless otherwise stated in this Agreement to Arbitrate. If you are able to demonstrate that the costs of accessing arbitration will be prohibitive as compared to the costs of accessing a court for purposes of pursuing litigation on an individual basis, Sponsor will pay as much of the filing, administration, and arbitrator fees as the arbitrator deems necessary to prevent the cost of accessing the arbitration from being prohibitive. In the event the arbitrator determine the claim(s) you assert in the arbitration to be frivolous, you agree to reimburse Sponsor for all fees associated with the arbitration paid by Sponsor on your behalf that you otherwise would be obligated to pay under the AAA’s rules.
With the exception of any of the provisions in the Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief section below, if a court decides that any part of this Agreement to Arbitrate is invalid or unenforceable, the other parts of this Agreement to Arbitrate shall still apply. If a court decides that any of the provisions in the Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief section above is invalid or unenforceable because it would prevent the exercise of a non-waivable right to pursue public injunctive relief, then any dispute regarding the entitlement to such relief (and only that relief) must be severed from arbitration and may be litigated in court. All other disputes subject to arbitration under the terms of the Agreement to Arbitrate shall be arbitrated under its terms.
12. Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief: Entrant and Sponsor agree that each of us may bring claims against the other only on an individual basis and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class or representative action or proceeding. Unless both Entrant and Sponsor agree otherwise, the arbitrator may not consolidate or join more than one person’s or party’s claims and may not otherwise preside over any form of a consolidated, representative or class proceeding. Also, the arbitrator may award relief (including monetary, injunctive and declaratory relief) only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief necessitated by that party’s individual claim(s).
13. Limitation of Liability: Entrant agrees that any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Sweepstakes, but in no event attorneys’ fees. Under no circumstances will entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and entrant hereby waives all rights to claim, indirect, punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the entrant and Sponsor in connection with the Sweepstakes, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Delaware without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of Delaware or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Delaware.
14. Entrant's Personal Information: Information collected from entrants is subject to Sponsor’s Privacy Policy.
15. Winner List: For a winner list, click here. The winner list will be posted after winner confirmation is complete.
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