Official Rules
This Bud Authority Digital Makeover Promotion (the "Promotion") is a private business to business incentive promotion offered by Sponsor to a closed group of…
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Bud Authority Digital Makeover Promotion
NECANN New Jersey 2026
THIS IS A PRIVATE BUSINESS TO BUSINESS INCENTIVE PROMOTION. IT IS OPEN ONLY TO BUSINESS ENTITIES HOLDING AN ACTIVE, CURRENT, STATE-ISSUED CANNABIS BUSINESS LICENSE OR PERMIT.
NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. SPONSOR RECEIVES NO PORTION OF ANY EVENT ADMISSION FEE.
VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW.
Last updated: August 26, 2026
Rules version: 1.0
1. Nature of This Promotion
This Bud Authority Digital Makeover Promotion (the "Promotion") is a private business to business incentive promotion offered by Sponsor to a closed group of qualifying commercial entities. It is not a consumer promotion, and it is not offered to, advertised to, or open to the general public.
The Promotion is offered exclusively to business entities holding an active, current, state-issued cannabis business license or permit. Access to entry is restricted and controlled. Entry is available only in person at Sponsor's booth at NECANN New Jersey, an industry trade event, during the Entry Period. There is no public entry path, and the Promotion is not advertised through Sponsor's website, social media channels, paid media, or any other channel with general consumer exposure.
The Promotion is (a) governed by these Official Rules, (b) void where prohibited or restricted by law, and (c) subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
2. Sponsor
The Promotion is sponsored and administered by Black Key Holdings, LLC, a Wyoming limited liability company doing business as Bud Authority, with a principal place of business at 30 N Gould Street, Ste R, Sheridan, WY 82801 ("Sponsor").
The Promotion is not sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with NECANN, the New England Cannabis Convention, the Atlantic City Convention Center, or any venue, exhibitor, or trade organization. Any questions regarding the Promotion should be directed to Sponsor at service@budauthority.com, not to the venue or event organizer.
3. Eligibility
To be eligible for the Promotion, an entrant must satisfy all of the following at the time of entry, at the time of verification, and at the time of prize award:
a. Entity requirement.
The entrant must be a legally formed business entity (corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or sole proprietorship operating under a registered trade name) that is validly existing and in good standing in its state of formation.
b. License requirement.
The entity must hold an active, current, valid, and unrevoked cannabis business license or permit issued by a duly authorized cannabis regulatory authority within the United States or the District of Columbia or have an active, valid, pending application for a cannabis business license or permit that is under review by such regulatory authority. Qualifying license types include retail dispensary, delivery, cultivation, processing, manufacturing, and distribution licenses, whether medical or recreational.
The following do not qualify:
- A cannabis consumer, patient, or caregiver card or registration of any kind;
- An expired, suspended, revoked, surrendered, or inactive license;
- A hemp, CBD, hemp-derived cannabinoid, or similar business that does not hold a state-issued cannabis business license; and
- A cannabis brand, ancillary business, or service provider that does not itself hold a state-issued cannabis business license.
If an entrant has a pending license or permit application at the time of entry, then such entrant must have a finally-issued, active, current, valid, unrevoked cannabis business license or permit from the applicable regulatory authority by no later than [XX Date] to be eligible to accept a Prize.
c. Jurisdiction.
Because a cannabis business license is issued only by a state that has a legally regulated and authorized cannabis infrastructure, this requirement inherently limits eligibility to entities operating in jurisdictions where their licensed activity is lawful. The entity must be organized and operating within the fifty United States or the District of Columbia.
d. Authorized representative.
The entry must be submitted by a natural person who is: (i) twenty-one (21) years of age or older at the time of entry, (ii) an owner, officer, director, member, manager, or employee of the entity, and (iii) duly authorized to submit the entry and to legally bind the entity to these Official Rules and to all subsequent documents required to receive a Prize.
e. Verification.
The entrant must provide all of the information listed in Section 5 at the time of entry, and must be able and willing to produce documentation of its license status, entity status, and the authority of its representative upon Sponsor's request.
Not eligible.
The following are not eligible to enter or win: individual consumers, patients, or caregivers entering in a personal capacity; any entity that does not meet the license requirement in Section 3(b); Sponsor and its members, officers, employees, and contractors; current Bud Authority clients under an active engagement as of the first day of the Entry Period; and the immediate family members and households of the foregoing.
Prize is awarded to the entity.
Any prize awarded under this Promotion is awarded to the qualifying business entity, not to the individual who submitted the entry. The individual submitting the entry acquires no personal right to any prize.
Limit.
One (1) entry per business entity for the entire Entry Period, regardless of the number of locations, brands, licenses, or personnel associated with that entity. Entities under common ownership or control are treated as a single entrant. Duplicate entries will be consolidated and only the first eligible entry will be retained.
4. Entry Period
The Entry Period begins at 10:00AM Eastern Time on September 18, 2026 and ends at 3:00PM Eastern Time on September 19, 2026.
Entries submitted before or after the Entry Period will not be eligible. Sponsor's systems and records are the official timekeeping devices for the Promotion.
5. How to Enter
Entry is available only in person at the Bud Authority booth at NECANN New Jersey
held at the Atlantic City Convention Center on September 18 and 19, 2026, during the Entry Period. There is no online entry, no mail-in entry, and no remote entry path.
To enter, an authorized representative of a qualifying entity must visit the Bud Authority booth and complete the official entry form on a Sponsor-provided tablet or on a device connected to Sponsor's access-controlled entry system at the booth. The entry system is reachable only through an access credential issued and controlled by Sponsor at the booth.
The entry form requires all of the following, and an entry cannot be submitted without them:
- Legal business entity name
- State cannabis license number
- Issuing state
- License expiration date or Application Submission Date (if License is not yet approved)
- Business street address, city, state, and zip
- Name, title, work email, and business phone of the authorized representative
The entrant must also affirmatively acknowledge the following attestation before the entry can be submitted:
"I certify that the business named above holds an active, current, state-issued cannabis business license or permit; that I am at least 21 years of age; that I am an owner, officer, member, manager, or employee of this business and am authorized to submit this entry on its behalf; and that I have read and agree to the Official Rules."
Entries that are incomplete, submitted by an ineligible party, submitted outside the Entry Period, or submitted in a manner that does not comply with these Official Rules are void. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, or misdirected entries, all of which are void. Proof of submitting an entry does not constitute proof of delivery or entry. All entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned to participant. Use of multiple phone numbers, email addresses and/or mailing addresses, and/or the manipulation of such information, for the purpose of obtaining more than the stated number of entries, is prohibited and such persons will be disqualified, and all entries deemed invalid, and any prize won shall be forfeited.
By entering, the entrant and its authorized representative agree to be bound by these Official Rules and to Sponsor's required waivers, affidavits, other documents, and decisions, which are final and binding in all matters relating to the Promotion, and which will require signature by an authorized representative of the Entity before receipt of a Prize.
No consideration.
Entry is free. No purchase, payment, or other consideration of any kind is required to enter or to win, and no purchase or payment will improve an entrant's chance of winning. Sponsor receives no portion of any NECANN admission or exhibitor fee. Admission to NECANN is purchased from the event organizer for reasons independent of this Promotion, and Sponsor derives no benefit from it. Sponsor notes that NECANN provides complimentary admission to license holders and qualified buyers.
6. License Verification
All entries are subject to license verification before the drawing.
Following the close of the Entry Period and prior to the drawing, Sponsor will verify each entry's stated license number, issuing state, and status against the public license lookup or licensee registry maintained by the issuing state's cannabis regulatory authority. Where the issuing state does not maintain a public lookup, or where a lookup result is inconclusive, Sponsor will contact the entrant directly and request a copy of the license.
Any entry whose license cannot be confirmed as active and current, or whose entrant does not respond to a request for documentation within 7 business days, will be voided and removed from the entry pool. Only verified entries are included in the drawing.
Sponsor maintains a verification record for each entry. Sponsor's determination of eligibility is final.
7. Prizes
Three (3) prizes will be awarded. Total approximate retail value of all prizes: $22,500.00 USD.
All prizes consist of professional services performed by Sponsor for an eligible and verified business entity. No prize includes cash, cannabis, cannabis products, or any product containing cannabis. No cash alternative is available.
7.1 Grand Prize: eCommerce Website Redesign and Rebuild
Approximate retail value: $15,000.00 USD
One (1) Grand Prize consisting of a custom cannabis eCommerce website design and build performed by Sponsor, including:
- Competitive research and analysis of the winner's market
- Audit of the winner's existing website and digital presence
- Custom website design and front-end development
- Mobile-first responsive user experience
- Up to twenty-five (25) core pages, plus up to ten (10) location or service-area pages where applicable
- eCommerce menu integration with the winner's existing menu provider
- Technical SEO architecture, including metadata, heading structure, internal linking, schema markup, XML sitemap, and canonical configuration
- Conversion-focused user experience design
- Google Analytics 4 configuration and conversion tracking setup
- Google Search Console setup and verification
- Performance optimization
- Content migration support from the winner's existing site
- Deployment and launch
- Up to two (2) rounds of revisions during the defined revision windows
Hosting.
Sponsor will provide website hosting at no charge for six (6) months following launch. After that period, hosting continues at Sponsor's then-current rates unless the winner elects to host the site independently. The winner may elect at any time to host the site on infrastructure it controls, at its own cost.
The Grand Prize does not include:
any ongoing search engine optimization campaign, retainer, or managed service engagement, which is a separate paid service not included in this Promotion; paid advertising management or ad spend; original photography or videography; original written content beyond the pages defined above; third-party software licenses, subscriptions, plugins, or menu platform fees; domain registration or renewal fees; the winner's own staff time; custom application development, integrations, or functionality beyond the scope described above; ongoing maintenance, support, or content updates after the post-launch support window; or any work required by the winner's failure to provide access, assets, content, or approvals.
Scope changes.
Any work requested by the winner beyond the scope described above will be quoted separately at Sponsor's standard rates and is the winner's responsibility. Scope beyond this description is not part of the prize.
7.2 Second Prize: 90-Day Search Authority Accelerator
Approximate retail value: $5,000.00 USD
One (1) Second Prize consisting of a ninety (90) day cannabis search and local visibility engagement performed by Sponsor, including:
- Technical search audit of the winner's website
- Competitive intelligence analysis identifying organic and local competitors and their performance drivers
- Keyword and content opportunity map covering transactional, local, and informational opportunities
- Local and Google Business Profile visibility review and recommendations, covering up to five (5) locations
- On-page optimization of up to ten (10) priority pages
- Analytics and search tracking review, where the winner provides access to Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console
- Ninety (90) day growth roadmap
- One (1) strategy session with Sponsor of up to one (1) hour
The Second Prize does not include:
website design or development work; content writing beyond the on-page optimization described above; link acquisition or digital PR; paid advertising; citation building or listing management services; any work continuing beyond the ninety (90) day engagement period; or any ongoing retainer.
7.3 Third Prize: Digital Authority Blueprint
Approximate retail value: $2,500.00 USD
One (1) Third Prize consisting of a written digital assessment and strategy session performed by Sponsor, including a documented review of:
- Website: user experience, conversion opportunities, technical issues, and mobile experience
- Search: organic visibility, rankings, content gaps, and technical opportunities
- Local: Google visibility and location search opportunities
- Competitors: three (3) to five (5) competitors benchmarked against the winner
- Data: Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console tracking and measurement review, where the winner provides access
- Roadmap: prioritized ninety (90) day action plan
Plus one (1) strategy session with Sponsor of sixty (60) to ninety (90) minutes to review the assessment.
The Third Prize does not include:
implementation of any recommendation; website, content, or optimization work of any kind; or any ongoing engagement. The Third Prize is advisory and deliverable-based only.
7.4 Prize conditions applicable to all prizes
No purchase required to claim.
No winner is required to purchase any product or service, enter into any paid engagement, or pay any fee in order to claim or receive a prize. Any additional services a winner may wish to purchase from Sponsor are entirely separate from this Promotion and are never a condition of receiving a prize.
Non-transferable.
Prizes are awarded to the winning entity and may not be sold, assigned, traded, transferred, or redeemed for cash. A prize may not be transferred to another business entity, including an affiliate, parent, subsidiary, or successor, without Sponsor's prior written consent.
No substitution.
No substitution of prizes is permitted, except that Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value if the advertised prize becomes unavailable or impracticable to award for any reason.
Approximate retail value.
Stated values are based on Sponsor's standard rates for comparable services as of the date these Official Rules were published. Actual value realized may vary. No difference between stated and actual value will be awarded.
Redemption window.
The winner must initiate its prize by contacting Sponsor and completing Sponsor's onboarding intake within 14 days of prize acceptance. Work on the Grand Prize must commence within 30 days of acceptance, and the engagement must be completed within 60 days of commencement, subject to the winner's timely cooperation. Second and Third Prize engagements must commence within 30 days of acceptance.
Winner cooperation required.
Each prize requires the winner's timely cooperation, including providing content, brand assets, credentials, platform access, feedback, and approvals as reasonably requested. If the winner fails to respond to a Sponsor request for more than 7 consecutive days, Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, suspend work, extend deadlines, deem the engagement complete as delivered, or declare the prize forfeited. Sponsor shall not be held responsible for any delays in awarding the Prize or any component thereof for any reason.
Forfeiture.
A prize is forfeited if the winner fails to meet a deadline in these Official Rules, fails to satisfy verification requirements, declines the prize, cannot be reached as described in Section 9, or is found ineligible at any time. Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, award a forfeited prize to an alternate winner or elect not to award it.
Legal and regulatory limits.
Sponsor will not perform any work that would violate applicable federal, state, or local law, cannabis advertising or marketing regulation, or platform terms of service. If Sponsor determines in good faith that it cannot lawfully perform a prize for a particular winner, or that performing would create material regulatory risk, Sponsor may declare the prize forfeited and select an alternate winner.
Separate agreement.
Before work begins, the winner must execute Sponsor's standard services agreement governing scope, timeline, intellectual property, confidentiality, and acceptance. Execution of that agreement is a condition of receiving the prize but carries no cost to the winner. In the event of a conflict between that agreement and these Official Rules concerning the performance of services, the services agreement controls.
8. Odds of Winning
Odds of winning depend on the total number of verified eligible entries received during the Entry Period.
9. Winner Selection and Notification
Drawing.
Three (3) potential winners will be selected in a single random drawing from among all verified eligible entries received during the Entry Period. The drawing will be conducted by Sponsor or its designated representative on September 19, 2026, and their decisions shall be final and binding in all respects.
The first verified entry drawn at random will be the potential Grand Prize winner, the second verified entry drawn at random will be the potential Second Prize winner, and the third verified entry drawn at random will be the potential Third Prize winner. The drawing is conducted through a logged, reproducible process, and Sponsor retains a record of the entry pool, the selection method, and the result.
Presence not required.
Entrants do not need to be present at the drawing to win.
Notification.
Sponsor will notify each potential winner using the contact information provided at entry, by email and, where provided, by telephone. Each potential winner must respond and confirm acceptance within 7 business days of the first notification attempt. In the event that any prize notification message is returned as undeliverable or if no response to the prize notification message is received within the time period stated or if the potential winner is found ineligible or does not comply with these Official Rules, the Prize may, in the Sponsor's sole and absolute discretion, be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner selected at random from among remaining eligible entries. If the confirmed winner forfeits the Prize for any reason after confirmation, in the Sponsor's sole and absolute discretion the Prize may be awarded to an alternate winner selected at random from among remaining eligible entries.
Verification.
Each potential winner must, within 7 business days of the first notification, provide documentation reasonably satisfactory to Sponsor establishing: the entity's legal existence and good standing; its active state-issued cannabis business license; and the authority of the responding individual to accept the prize on the entity's behalf. Each potential winner must also execute an affidavit of eligibility, a liability release, and, except where prohibited by law, a publicity release.
Failure to respond.
If a potential winner does not respond within the stated period, cannot be reached, declines the prize, fails verification, returns notification as undeliverable, or is otherwise found ineligible, that potential winner forfeits all rights to the prize and Sponsor may select an alternate winner at random from the remaining verified eligible entries. Sponsor is not obligated to make more than 1 alternate selection(s) per prize, after which the prize may go unawarded.
Announcement.
Winners will be notified directly. Winners may be announced by Sponsor to its business entity email contact list at Sponsor's sole discretion.
10. Taxes
All federal, state, and local taxes and any other costs and expenses associated with prize acceptance and use not expressly stated as included are the sole responsibility of the winner.
Prizes awarded to business entities may be reportable income. Sponsor will issue an IRS Form 1099 to any winner as required by law, and the winner must provide a completed IRS Form W-9 as a condition of receiving the prize. Winners should consult their own tax advisors. Sponsor does not provide tax advice.
11. Publicity
Except where prohibited by law, by accepting a prize the winner grants Sponsor the right to use the winner's business name, logo, city and state, license type, project deliverables, before and after performance data, and statements about the engagement, in any media worldwide, for trade, commercial, advertising and promotional purposes, without further compensation, notice, review, or approval at any time or times, in all media now known or hereafter discovered worldwide including but not limited to television (including live television), radio, Internet, without notice, review or approval and without additional compensation except where prohibited by law.
Sponsor will not publish any metric, result, or performance claim that Sponsor cannot attribute to work Sponsor directly performed. Sponsor will not publish confidential business information designated as confidential under the services agreement.
12. Privacy and Data
Information collected from entrants is subject to Sponsor's Privacy Policy at https://budauthority.com/privacy-policy and entrant agrees to this Privacy Policy by entering to win.
By entering, the entrant and its authorized representative acknowledge that Sponsor may contact the entrant regarding this Promotion and, where the entrant has separately opted in, regarding Sponsor's services. Opting into marketing communications is not required to enter or to win, and does not affect the chance of winning.
13. General Conditions
Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any entrant it believes has tampered with the entry process, submitted false or misleading information, misrepresented its license status or the authority of its representative, acted in violation of these Official Rules, or acted in a disruptive or unsportsmanlike manner, or engaged in cheating, deception, or other unfair playing practices or annoys, abuses, threatens or harasses any other entrants, Released Parties, or associated agencies or entities.
Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend, or modify the Promotion, or any part of it, if fraud, technical failure, or any other factor beyond Sponsor's reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Promotion. In such event, Sponsor may select winners at random from among all verified eligible entries received up to the time of the impairment.
Any attempt to deliberately damage the Promotion or undermine its legitimate operation may be a violation of criminal and civil law. Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages and other remedies to the fullest extent permitted by law.
14. Release and Limitation of Liability
By participating in the Promotion, each entrant and winner releases and holds harmless Sponsor and its members, officers, employees, directors, managers, contractors, agents, and affiliates ("Released Parties") from any claim, liability, injury, loss, or damage of any kind arising out of or in connection with participation in the Promotion, the awarding, acceptance, receipt, possession, use, or misuse of any Prize, or any interaction with a venue, event organizer, or third party in connection with the Promotion.
Released Parties are not responsible for: technical failures of any kind; failures of any transmission, network, server, or provider; incomplete or corrupted entries; printing, typographical, or human error in these Official Rules or in any Promotion materials; or any injury or damage to any person's property related to participation in the Promotion.
Sponsor's total liability to any entrant arising out of the Promotion will not exceed the approximate retail value of the prize associated with that entrant's entry.
Prize is provided "AS IS." Sponsor makes no representation or warranty regarding the results, rankings, traffic, revenue, or business outcomes any prize may produce. Sponsor is not responsible for electronic transmission errors resulting in omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations or transmission, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of entry materials, or for technical, network, telephone equipment, electronic computer, hardware or software malfunctions or limitations of any kind, or inaccurate transmissions of or failure to receive entry information by Sponsor on account of technical problems or traffic congestion via mobile phone or otherwise. If, for any reason, the Promotion is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, act of God, or any other causes which corrupt or otherwise affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Promotion, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Promotion or any portion thereof at any time, and for any reason without further obligation or advance notice.
15. Disputes and Governing Law
These Official Rules are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict of law principles.
Any dispute arising out of or relating to this Promotion will be resolved first through good faith negotiation, then through mediation, and if unresolved, through binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its applicable rules, conducted in [location to be specified]. Each party bears its own costs and attorneys' fees.
Entrants waive any right to claim punitive, exemplary, special, incidental, consequential, and indirect damages, and any right to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. Entrants agree that any dispute will be resolved individually and not through any class, consolidated, or representative proceeding.
16. Winners List
To request the names of the winners, send a written request to Sponsor at service@budauthority.com no later than ninety (90) days after the Promotion end date. Sponsor will provide the winners list at no charge.
17. Severability
If any provision of these Official Rules is held to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary or severed, and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.
18. Not a Consumer Promotion
This Promotion is a private business to business incentive promotion. Eligibility is restricted to a defined, closed group of commercial entities holding an active state-issued cannabis business license. Individual consumers are not eligible. Access to the entry mechanism is restricted and controlled by Sponsor at its trade event booth. The Promotion is not advertised to the general public and is communicated only within the event and to Sponsor's existing business contacts. This Promotion is therefore not a promotion offered in connection with the sale of consumer products or services and is not a consumer sweepstakes.
Sponsor: Black Key Holdings, LLC d/b/a Bud Authority
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