Publishers Clearing House Acquired by Online Sweepstakes Casino Company

• Publishers Clearing House has been acquired
• ARB Interactive, the buyer, runs online sweepstakes games
• ARB is paying more than $7.1 million for PCH

Publishers Clearing House (PCH) has a new owner in ARB Interactive, a Miami-based online sweepstakes gaming company best known for its Modo Casino.

Founded in 1953 as a door-to-door magazine subscription service that entered subscribers into its widely known sweepstakes promotions where winners were surprised with doorstep checks from the Prize Patrol ranging from $1,000 to $10 million, PCH went belly up in April two years after the company agreed to an order from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to overhaul its sweepstakes entry and sales processes, stop surprise fees, and to pay $18.5 million to affected consumers.

ARB is paying $7.1 million in cash and will cover approximately $378K in outstanding expenses. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the PCH acquisition.

Pending court approval, we’re excited to begin this next chapter and deliver an experience that honors the legacy of the brand while earning the trust of a new generation of players,” said Patrick Fechtmeyer, the co-founder and CEO of ARB Interactive.

ARB’s Modo Casino is a free-to-play social casino that uses several celebrities’ likenesses to market its online operation, including Snoop Dogg and John Daly. In addition to social gaming, Modo offers a secondary digital token — Sweeps Coins — that can be used to win cash prizes. 

Social Sweeps Controversy 

No topic has garnered more controversy in the United States gaming industry of late than social sweepstakes. Proponents of the apps and sites claim they run amusement entertainment games, but the secondary currency element has made plenty of critics who contend the businesses violate state and federal gaming laws.

On the Modo website, the fine print reads, “Modo is a play-for-fun website intended for amusement purposes only. Modo does not offer ‘real-money gambling.'”

State gaming regulators, attorneys general, and lawmakers across the country continue to crack down on online sweeps casinos. Cease-and-desist letters have been sent and new laws explicitly banning online sweepstakes promotions have found favor in state legislatures.

Aligning with PCH, a brand most people over the age of 30 are familiar with, could give ARB Interactive and Modo Casino a bit of credence to their operations and claims that it is not a real-money iGaming operation. Fechtmeyer says ARB is committed to “digitally transforming the business through mobile-first, interactive, and free-to-play games enhanced by the power of sweepstakes and prizes.”

PCH Controversy

The FTC’s probe into Publishers Clearing House determined that many consumers wrongly thought that the more they purchased, the better their odds were of having the Prize Patrol come knock on their door. The FTC’s complaint charged that PCH used “dark patterns” to mislead consumers into thinking a purchase was necessary to win or would increase their chances of winning.

The FTC also alleged that PCH had surprise shipping and handling fees that made the subscription price considerably more expensive than advertised.

“Many consumers affected by these practices were older and lower-income,” the FTC said in June 2023.