ARB Interactive, the parent company of Modo Casino, an online business that purports to offer free-to-play social casino games but also permits the use of a secondary digital token that detractors allege equates to real-money gambling, purchased Publishers Clearing House (PCH) in June.

The Modo Casino, also known as the "Official Social Casino of Publishers Clearing House," now has its own tab on the PCH website.

“America’s Favorite Sweepstakes Meets America’s Social Casino,” the signup page reads. The introductory promo allows new users to receive 17,500 Gold Coins and “5 Free Sweepstakes Coins” for just $0.99.

According to a statement sent to Casino.org, PCH is against a California measure that would outlaw online sweepstakes games.

"Sweepstakes promotions are lawful marketing mechanisms that encourage optional in-game purchases of virtual tokens to enhance gameplay on online platforms,” the company said in submitted testimony to the California Senate Appropriations Committee, which is reviewing Assembly Bill 831.

After the SCs are wagered a specific number of times to be eligible for withdrawal, social sweepstakes casinos offer "sweepstake coins" that may be exchanged for actual cash.  Gold Coins are genuine social gaming tokens that aren't exchangeable for money or other valuables.

Only genuine social games where players can win extra entries into the main sweepstakes contests are available on the PCH website; SC gaming is not available there.  A PCH user must travel to Modo in order to access slots and live-dealer table games.

Odds for PCH Are Far Longer Than Mega Millions 

The most well-known marketing tactic used by Publishers Clearing House was Prize Patrol, in which PCH representatives rushed to customers' doorsteps to tell them they had won money that may change their lives.

PCH was a door-to-door magazine subscription business in its prime.  Many customers believed that additional magazine subscriptions increased their chances of having the Prize Patrol ring their doorbell.  They didn't.

PCH's operations were mostly conducted online since the internet became a commonplace element of daily life.  Although online contests were the company's main source of revenue, magazines were still sold.

PCH has consistently provided free entry to its sweepstakes.  The website provides social games where users can earn extra playtime tokens and secondary prizes for those who want to participate more than once a day.

Because the website used to receive a lot of traffic, the previous revenue model depended on online ads.  Additionally, PCH sold its millions of registered users' information to outside advertising.

One thing hasn't changed: the chances of winning a PCH sweepstakes are extremely low, far lower than winning a Powerball or Mega Millions prize.

PCH is now holding two significant sweepstakes: the "$10,000 American Dream," which offers a $5,000 prize for two winners, and the "$10,000 for Gas & Groceries," which offers a $10,000 prize for one winner.

Your chances of winning either contest are 1 in 4.8 billion, according to PCH.  There is a 1 in 290.4 million chance of winning the Mega Millions jackpot.  There is a 1 in 292.2 million chance of winning Powerball.

 

Social Casinos Permit Redemption of Real Money

By registering and playing with a number of leaders, Casino.org recently conducted an analysis on social casino games.  In return for our real money deposits, we were given "free" sweeps coins and gold coins.

After playing the table games and social slot machines, we explored the platforms' sweeps section.  We discovered live-dealer table games in addition to slot machines.  We wager our winnings on roulette, baccarat, blackjack, and slots.  We were able to access the real money games in Virginia and Pennsylvania.

We successfully redeemed our winnings and any remaining funds after experiencing the process.

When asked how long it would take to "cash out" our prizes, a customer support agent informed us that sweepstakes coins "have no cash value," but they can "be redeemed."  It seems that she objected to "cash out." Within a week, all three withdrawals were finished.

One sweepstakes casino asked us to provide an explanation for our desire to stop playing after we requested that our account be deleted.  We informed the online customer support agent that we were addicted to gambling and that we no longer want access.

Their response: “Your account has now been closed. If you wish to reopen at any time, please just reach out to me. Fingers crossed for better luck next time, and I’ll do my best to pop some SC in your account on reopening.”