Class action lawsuit over NYC Marathon lottery

[Velar Fricative]

My first thought is WTF. My second thought is, maybe there is actually something to this as per state law?

mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0UZ2FH

[Velar Fricative]

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The organizers of the New York City Marathon have been sued by two runners who said the use of a lottery to decide who gets to race in the world's largest marathon is illegal.

In a proposed class-action lawsuit filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Utah residents Charles Konopa and Matthew Clark said the nonprofit New York Road Runners Inc violated New York's constitution by operating a lottery because only the state itself can run chance-based lotteries.

The plaintiffs seek $10.56 million of damages, or twice the estimated amount collected from several hundred thousand runners who from 2010 to 2015 paid $11 nonrefundable fees to try to qualify for the marathon.

They also want an injunction against further lotteries until the Road Runners comply with state gaming laws. Both plaintiffs said they paid to enter the marathon lottery and did not win.

Chris Weiller, a spokesman for the Road Runners, said it would be premature to comment on the lawsuit. Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not respond to requests for comment.

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The 26.2-mile (42.2 km) marathon through New York City's five boroughs has been run every year since 1970, except for 2012 in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

Nearly 99 percent of the 50,235 runners from 125 countries who started the race last Nov. 1 finished, including an 84-year-old woman from the Netherlands.

Thursday's complaint was filed on the same day the Road Runners opened a one-month window for runners to apply for this year's marathon, which is scheduled for Nov. 6.

According to the complaint, fewer than 18 percent of lottery participants win spots in the race each year, and only 14 percent of the more than 80,000 participants did so in 2015.

Runners who actually enter the race must pay fees between $216 and $347. These fees are not the subject of the lawsuit.

The case is Konopa et al v. New York Road Runners Inc, U.S. District Court, District of New York, No. 16-00450.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Tom Brown)

[turboteal]

Didn't something similar happen with an Ironman race? I think they remedied it by making it free to enter the lottery, and then if you were picked you paid the fees for the race, etc.

I think it does seem shady to have to pay to even be in the lottery. I'm assuming you could only be in the lottery if you had a verifiable qualifying time.

[Velar Fricative]

Jan 21, 2016 18:35:38 GMT -5 turboteal said:

Didn't something similar happen with an Ironman race? I think they remedied it by making it free to enter the lottery, and then if you were picked you paid the fees for the race, etc.

I think it does seem shady to have to pay to even be in the lottery. I'm assuming you could only be in the lottery if you had a verifiable qualifying time.

The NYCM lottery is open to anyone and everyone, no qualifying time needed (a qualifying time gets you guaranteed entry).

[turboteal]

Jan 21, 2016 18:36:44 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Jan 21, 2016 18:35:38 GMT -5 turboteal said:

Didn't something similar happen with an Ironman race? I think they remedied it by making it free to enter the lottery, and then if you were picked you paid the fees for the race, etc.

I think it does seem shady to have to pay to even be in the lottery. I'm assuming you could only be in the lottery if you had a verifiable qualifying time.

The NYCM lottery is open to anyone and everyone, no qualifying time needed (a qualifying time gets you guaranteed entry).

Oh, I was thinking it was for people who qualified but they don't have enough spots. I could imagine those people being willing to pay for a lottery chance, more than a casual runner who hasn't trained for/run a marathon before and just want to sign up for the lottery on a whim. 

[joenali]

Jan 21, 2016 18:35:38 GMT -5 turboteal said:

Didn't something similar happen with an Ironman race? I think they remedied it by making it free to enter the lottery, and then if you were picked you paid the fees for the race, etc.

I think it does seem shady to have to pay to even be in the lottery. I'm assuming you could only be in the lottery if you had a verifiable qualifying time.

I'm still waiting to get my $150 back from this lottery.

[ESF]

Yeah, this sounds illegal to me.

You know how when companies run special events where you have the potential to win a prize if you buy certain things? Like there are little stickers on the McDonalds cups that you can peel off, and you can win a small order of fries and a grand prize winner could win $10,000? Or candy bars sometimes have them, where you can unwrap to see if you've won a trip to New York, or whatever it is?

And the commercials and fine print always say "no purchase required"? If you look for it, you will find with these things that they always, always have an address where you can write for a free ticket or game piece.

That's because if they require a purchase to have a chance to win, then they are effectively operating a lottery, which is illegal in a lot of states. Some states have exceptions for charitable purposes and non-profits, which is how schools and things have raffles for fundraisers, but for profit lotteries are usually not legal.

[Velar Fricative]

Makes me wonder what was going on that a well-run organization like the NYRR didn't, you know, check the law. Weird!

[LoveTrains]

ESF some states have very strict rules for charity raffles and such. I have had to get permits from the state to run one.

[Deleted]

Ooooh. Maybe I'll get some money out of this. I've entered 3 lotteries with NYRR.

[WanderingWinoZ]

interesting.....I can't remember if I paid to enter the lottery or if it was just submitting my credit card at the time & then they charged it if I was selected.

I will say they totally pissed me off when I was all set to run & at the airport when Hurricane Sandy hit. They handled it SOOOO poorly - continually saying the race was on & then finally cancelling it. Ok- I get THAT. BUt I had to pay my fees again the following year to run...so I paid twice!