Have you ever come across a one-time entry sweepstakes giveaway with an awesome prize and entered it… only to later realize you’ve already entered it a few days back? Have you just ruined your chances of winning the sweepstakes? Read on to find out.
Mistakes vs. cheating
It’s important that you don’t try to cheat by submitting more entries than what’s allowed. Keep in mind that over-entering on purpose will not do anything to tilt the odds in your favor - duplicate entries are fairly easy for sponsors to spot during the entry verification process.
However, it’s easy to see when a person makes a rare mistake as opposed to when someone is flouting the rules on purpose. When you cheat, the chances of your entries getting disqualified are a lot higher.
If you want to increase your chances of winning, it’s important that you read the rules carefully and follow them. Make sure to pay close attention to any terms regarding how many times you can enter the sweepstakes.
How to avoid disqualification for duplicate entries
The best way to avoid getting disqualified for submitting duplicate entries is to keep a track of all the sweepstakes you’ve entered. So, for instance, you may want to bookmark all single-entry sweepstakes pages as soon as you submit the entry. When you visit the site again, you’ll know from the bookmark that you’ve already submitted your entry. Alternatively, you could note down the name and details of all the sweepstakes you enter on a spreadsheet.
What to do if you’ve already submitted a duplicate entry?
If you’ve already accidentally submitted too many entries, you may be wondering if you will be disqualified by the sponsor. The answer is: maybe.
Some sweepstakes sponsors only accept the first entry submitted, while some disqualify all entries submitted by the individual. Of course, if the sweepstakes giveaway allows more entries, sponsors will have more options. You can check which method the sponsor uses for disqualification by going through the rules.
