Legal Question in Business Law in New York

I am interested in developing a crowdsourcing website for mortgages, wherein you give a monthly fee($10) and a number of random contributors would have payments directly made toward their principal. Using a 'lottery' system to choose the contributors seems the only fair way to pick someone. As payments are made to thier debt directly, technically no one 'wins' anything. I'm not trying to skirt lottery laws, simply trying to help others with a chance to put a huge dent in their mortgage by pooling resources. Are there any laws I would be breaking, or would this be seen as on the up and up?


Asked on 11/09/10, 5:51 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Daniel Pepper Pepper Law Group, LLC

I think it will depend on how and to whom the payments are made. The terms and conditions of your website will be critical to having this structured correctly. My office concentrates on structuring these types of online businesses, so feel free to contact me if you'd like to discuss further.

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Answered on 11/14/10, 6:23 am
Roman Fichman Esq. Law Practice of Roman Fichman Esq.

It's virtually impossible to answer your question in this forum as every state has its own set of gaming, lottery and sweepstakes laws. You would need to review your business model and determine if it's inline with 50 state laws.

You should also consider consulting an attorney familiar with tech / gaming startups to adjust certain elements of your business model to try and avoid possible violations all together.

Roman R. Fichman, Esq.

www.TheLegalist.com │ @TheLegalist

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Disclaimer: This posting has been written for educational purposes only and was not meant to be legal advice and should not be construed as legal advice. You should always consult an attorney admitted to practice in your jurisdiction for specific advice.

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Answered on 11/14/10, 7:39 pm


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