I don't believe that this is illegal. Because of the fact that they're doing the "write an essay" thing it's a competition not a 'raffle'. While yes, it's completely subjective... It remains within that competition level.<p>Think about it like this: You enter a pro-poker tournament, you pay $10k to POSSIBLY win $2million. Or a better example, you enter a baking competition with a $50 entry. The judges choose based on their feelings. They use their expert knowledge and weed out the people who couldn't perform technically.... but everything after that is based on their feelings and personal tastes/preferences. This is no different.<p>To the point of some other people in this thread... Ye this is totally preying on desperate people and is F<i></i>ked up. I don't know if they realize or just don't care but anyone entering is looking to 'better' themselves. There's no reason to enter a subjective competition like this when you're an investor with money to burn... so everyone entering is people with sob stories looking for hope and they're most likely spending money that they really shouldn't be giving up with their current situation.