TikTok Shop has reaffirmed a US ban on gambling, sweepstakes and other promotions based on chance, extending the rule to both merchants and creators. The restrictions cover listings, livestreams and videos, and apply even to content without a prize or audience engagement.
The policy prohibits customers from being charged for a chance to win a prize, receive a mystery reward or take part in an activity determined by luck or random outcomes. Raffles, lotteries, wagers, sweepstakes, lucky draws and spin wheels are among the expressly prohibited formats.
The guidance was published through TikTok’s US Academy, according to iGamingToday. However, the rules appear to be a formal restatement rather than an entirely new ban: US Poker reported that TikTok Shop had published detailed gambling guidance on May 27, followed by a formal version dated June 25.
The scope reaches sales tactics that can blur commerce and games of chance. TikTok identifies sweepstakes entries, oyster openings, lucky spins, wheels and draws as prohibited gamification methods, and tells sellers not to use gambling language or randomized rewards. Auctions, mystery products, giveaways and livestream sales are also covered.
The rule bars the sale of Gold Coin packages that include bonus Sweeps Coins, because a payment for a chance at a redeemable prize is treated as gambling. It also rules out spin-the-wheel and lucky-draw promotions for Sweeps Coins, third-party giveaway tools and mystery-reward bundles.
The stated exception is narrow. A free prize promotion must use TikTok’s official LIVE Giveaway feature, keep entry free and avoid chance-based winner selection, including spins, wheels and draws.
Enforcement can result in listings being removed, customer refunds, the loss of selling privileges and restricted access to platform features. TikTok Shop’s gambling policy does not distinguish between legal and illegal gambling, meaning licensed operators are treated in the same way as unlicensed ones for purposes of the Shop rule.
The Shop restrictions sit alongside wider TikTok rules. Its Community Guidelines bar content that markets gambling or gambling-like activity; its advertising policy requires gambling advertisers to be certified and blocks unlicensed gambling ads; and its branded-content rules class sweepstakes under gambling.
TikTok separately permits approved sellers to conduct card breaks involving sealed, unmodified trading cards and memorabilia, provided each buyer receives at least one physical product. But it bans random-team and draft-style breaks, bounty breaks, pull games, points-program breaks, train games, King of the Hill and HP Battles.
