Swoopo like auction for musical bands?
SwellJoe: I strongly suspect the Swoopo model will be deemed to be illegal in the not distant future, at least in the US.  It is either gambling in the form of a raffle, or a ponzy scheme, or some combination of the two, which are heavily regulated or illegal, respectively.  Of course, Swoopo also does other things that are very probably illegal (offering products under different names in different markets on the same "auction", but only having one "winner").I would also, personally, have serious ethical qualms about targeting the dumbest people with a rigged game.  Screwing really dumb people just seems low, since they also tend to have the least disposable income.But, I suppose if you're not concerned about the ethical greyness of the idea, and you're not concerned about the business having to change rapidly in the future due to legal barriers, and you're not concerned about the fines and probable gambling backtaxes you'll end up paying, and the huge potential for class action lawsuits, etc. the Swoopo model is making a small number of people fantastically wealthy in a very short period of time.  The Swoopo founders will probably still end up very rich, even after they spend some time in court and have to dramatically alter or shut down Swoopo.