TikTok Reaffirms Ban on Gambling, Sweepstakes Promotions
Ziv Chen • News Editor15+ years betting experience
Updated:
Nov 6, 2026 , 03:20 PM ET
• 4 min read
The platform's rules prohibit paid entries, sweepstakes, raffles, and other chance-based promotions, while allowing limited free giveaways through its official tool.
Photo By - Reuters Connect.
Social media platform TikTok reiterated its restrictions on gambling-related promotions, stating that gambling, sweepstakes, and other chance-based activities are prohibited on TikTok Shop.
Key Takeaways
Gambling promotions, including lotteries, sweepstakes, raffles, wagers, and paid games of chance, are prohibited on TikTok Shop.
Free giveaways are allowed under specific conditions, but sellers and creators must use TikTok Shop’s official LIVE Giveaway feature.
Sellers and creators who violate these rules may face listing removals, customer refunds, and the potential loss of selling privileges.
The updated guidelines, published through TikTok’s US Seller Academy, apply to both sellers and content creators.
They cover activities including lotteries, raffles, wagers, sweepstakes, lucky draws, prize wheels, and other promotions involving chance or randomness.
The rules also prevent sellers from charging customers for opportunities to win prizes or receive randomly allocated rewards. This includes promotional formats like mystery rewards, lucky scoops, and other activities where users pay without knowing what they will receive.
Free giveaways are permitted under specific conditions, but sellers and creators must use TikTok Shop’s official LIVE Giveaway feature. Entries must be free, and giveaways cannot use games of chance like spin wheels and lucky draws.
Violations can result in enforcement action, including product listing removals, customer refunds, and the loss of selling privileges or access to the platform’s features.
“These rules are in place to protect platform integrity and ensure a fair and safe experience for all users,” the updated guidelines state.
TikTok’s approach differs from that of other technology companies like Google and Meta, which allow certain gambling operators to advertise on their platforms if they meet licensing and approval requirements.
Zivhas been deep in the iGaming trenches for over 20 years, long before most people could spell "geolocation compliance." With a background in marketing and business development at some of the biggest names in gambling tech, Ziv knows the industry from the inside out. Since joining Covers, he's turned his sharp eye (and sharper keyboard) toward everything happening in the fast-moving world of online gambling. Whether it's new state launches, the latest twists in regulation, or what the big operators and game providers are cooking up next, Ziv breaks it all down with clarity, context, and just the right amount of snark. He covers the business side of betting, from affiliate trends and revenue reports to the tech powering your favorite slots. His motto in writing is “let’s make it make sense without putting you to sleep.”
When he’s not tracking gambling legislation or looking for the next breaking story, Ziv is living and dying with every pitch and play from his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins. As a Pitt graduate, it’s a city loyalty forged in heartbreak, but one he wouldn’t trade for anything, except maybe a few more playoff wins.
When away from the keyboard, Ziv loves to hit the road and soak up the energy of casinos. Whether strolling the neon jungle called the Vegas Strip, or wandering into a smoky riverboat casino in the Midwest, Ziv’s in his element. He’s the guy chatting with players, blackjack dealers, and asking pit bosses way too many questions, all in the name of “research,” of course. The casino floor isn’t just his workplace, it’s a weird and wonderful ecosystem of flashing lights, wild characters, and pure sensory overload, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
If you choose to make use of any information on this website including online sports betting services from any websites that may be featured on
this website, we strongly recommend that you carefully check your local laws before doing so.It is your sole responsibility to understand your local laws and observe them strictly.Covers does not provide
any advice or guidance as to the legality of online sports betting or other online gambling activities within your jurisdiction and you are responsible for complying with laws that are applicable to you in
your relevant locality.Covers disclaims all liability associated with your use of this website and use of any information contained on it.As a condition of using this website, you agree to hold the owner
of this website harmless from any claims arising from your use of any services on any third party website that may be featured by Covers.
