How to Enter Event Ticket Giveaways in Saint Paul, Minnesota Without Scams

The safest way to enter event ticket giveaways in Saint Paul is to go directly to the sponsors that actually run them — local radio stations like The Current, KS95, and Cities 97.1 all maintain free online entry pages — and to treat any message demanding payment to release a prize as a red flag. A real giveaway costs nothing to enter and nothing to win; the moment someone asks for a fee, the Federal Trade Commission's guidance says you are looking at a scam, not a prize. That distinction matters because the losses are real.

Consumers reported losing $301 million to prize and sweepstakes scams in the most recent year the FTC tallied, and Minnesota law gives entrants specific protections most people never invoke. Here is where the legitimate Saint Paul ticket giveaways live, how their rules work, and how to tell a real win from a costly fake.

Verification note: Program terms and availability can change. This page was checked against linked sources on September 19, 2026.

Where Saint Paul's real ticket giveaways run

The most reliable local source is Minnesota Public Radio's The Current, headquartered in downtown Saint Paul. It runs an ongoing free online ticket-giveaway program for Twin Cities concerts: you enter through a web form by a posted midnight deadline, must be at least 13, and winners are drawn randomly and notified by email or phone, per the station's giveaway rules. Prizes are nontransferable and cannot be exchanged for cash — a chance to win tickets, not a guaranteed benefit.

KS95, the Hubbard Broadcasting station licensed to Saint Paul, keeps a standing "online register to win" page. Its published contest rules disqualify Hubbard employees and their households, and bar anyone who has won any station prize within the prior 30 days — so if you enter often, track your wins before re-entering, or a fresh win can be voided. Cities 97.1, iHeartMedia's Twin Cities station, lists active ticket contests on its promotions page, with current entries including Outlaw Music Festival, Lily Allen, Dermot Kennedy, and Weezer.

Each contest is governed by posted rules on the station's rules page — read the entry window and eligibility before assuming a contest is open.

What entering legitimately looks like

Every legitimate entry above shares the same shape: a web form on the sponsor's own domain, no payment, no gift card, no "processing fee." That is the FTC's core test — real prizes are free. Any demand to pay "taxes," "shipping and handling," or "customs duties" to collect a prize marks a scam, and no legitimate sponsor asks for payment by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency. Before you type anything into a form: A random draw means most entries win nothing.

Sponsors that promise everyone wins, or that you have "already won" a contest you never entered, are not running giveaways.

• Reach the entry page by navigating from the station's or venue's homepage, not from a link in a message.
• Check the URL character by character. The Better Business Bureau warns that scammers build lookalike domains mimicking Ticketmaster and radio stations.
• Read the eligibility line. Age minimums (13 at The Current), win-frequency limits (30 days at KS95), and employee exclusions are standard.
• Note the deadline and how winners are notified, so a later "you've won" contact can be checked against it.

The Minnesota law that works in your favor

Saint Paul entrants have a specific state statute behind them. Under Minnesota Statutes section 325F.755, a sponsor may not require any payment tied to a prize unless it first delivers a written notice stating the sponsor's true name and address, each prize's retail value, the odds of winning, and any charges. It must also deliver a won prize — or an unconditional right to it — within 30 days.

In practice, this gives you two checks. If someone claims you won and asks for anything of value without that written disclosure, they are already outside Minnesota law. And if a legitimate-seeming sponsor confirms a win but the tickets never arrive, the 30-day delivery requirement is the standard to cite.

The Minnesota Attorney General's office adds the pattern to watch for: sweepstakes scams reaching Minnesotans typically arrive by phone, mail, or email claiming a large prize and then requesting money to release it. The office's advice is to never send payment and to report the contact to the Attorney General.

Spotting a fake "you've won" message

The dangerous moment is not entry — it is the notification. Scammers do not need you to have entered anything; they cold-contact people and claim a win. FTC data show consumers lost $301 million to prize, sweepstakes, and lottery scams in the most recent tallied year, at an average of $907 per person, and older adults are disproportionately targeted by phone-based "you've won" pitches.

Test any notification against what you actually did. The Current notifies winners by email or phone after a random draw from entries you submitted through its form — so a "win" for a giveaway you never entered fails immediately. A caller who pressures you to act within hours, asks you to keep the win secret, or requests payment in any form fails the FTC's free-prize test on the spot.

If tickets are ever offered for sale alongside a "prize" — a common hybrid pitch — the BBB advises confirming the offer directly through the venue or the sponsor's own website, and paying only by credit card if money legitimately changes hands, since card charges can be disputed. A wire transfer or gift card payment cannot be clawed back.

A simple routine for frequent entrants

Ticket giveaways reward consistency, and a routine also keeps you scam-resistant. Bookmark the entry pages themselves — The Current's giveaways page, KS95's register-to-win page, Cities 97.1's promotions page — and enter only through those bookmarks, never through emailed links. Keep a simple log: contest name, sponsor, entry date, deadline, and any win.

The log does double duty. It satisfies rules like KS95's 30-day win limit, and it lets you instantly verify whether a "congratulations" message matches a contest you actually entered. Use an email address you check regularly, since random-draw sponsors like The Current notify by email or phone and prizes there are nontransferable — a missed notification usually means a forfeited prize, and there is no cash alternative to claim later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I ever have to pay taxes or fees upfront to claim giveaway tickets?

No. The FTC's rule is that real prizes are free — any upfront "tax," "shipping," or "processing" demand signals a scam. Taxes on large prizes are handled through your own tax filing, never paid to the sponsor to release a prize.

How often can I win from the same station?

It varies by sponsor. KS95's published rules bar anyone who has won any station prize in the prior 30 days; other sponsors set their own limits in their posted rules, so check each contest's rules page before re-entering.

What if I'm told I won but the tickets never arrive?

Minnesota Statutes section 325F.755 requires a sponsor to deliver a won prize, or an unconditional right to it, within 30 days. If that lapses, or if payment was demanded, report the contact to the Minnesota Attorney General's office.