Publishers Clearing House Bankruptcy Leaves Sweeps Winners Out to Dry
Posted on: August 14, 2025, 08:52h.
Last updated on: August 14, 2025, 12:16h.
- A sweepstakes casino operator acquired Publishers Clearing House
- Former PCH winners say their prize payments have stopped since the bankruptcy
- A disabled veteran was guaranteed $5,000 a week for life
Publishers Clearing House (PCH) was acquired last month by ARB Interactive, a mobile and social gaming company that operates the Modo Casino, a sweepstakes platform. The $7.1 million purchase, announced in June, was completed after the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York signed off on the acquisition.
ARB says it plans to modernize PCH, best known for its Prize Patrol, where winners of promotional sweepstakes stemming from magazine subscriptions were informed of life-changing wins.
“For over 70 years, PCH has been a staple of American culture — known for its life-changing sweepstakes, the iconic Prize Patrol, and its deep connection with millions of households. Now, we have the opportunity to modernize that legacy for the digital age,” an ARB Interactive release read.
With this acquisition, we’re bringing a mobile-first, trust-driven approach to evolve PCH, delivering modern, free-to-play experiences while preserving everything that has made the brand so special,” ARB continued.
Some former PCH sweepstakes winners say ARB is not upholding those “trust-driven” claims, nor “preserving” what’s made PCH “so special.”
Disabled Vet Says Annuity Has Stopped
The Wall Street Journal reports that a disabled veteran, who has collected an annuity of just under $200K after tax from Publishers Clearing House through a “$5,000 A Week Forever” promotion she won in February 2021, has stopped receiving her prize winnings.
In 2021, Tamar Veatch and her husband, Matthew, both disabled veterans, were told on the doorstep of their home by the PCH Prize Patrol that Tamar would receive $5,000 a week, paid annually, for life, and then a beneficiary of her choosing would also receive $5,000 a week for their life.
The Veatchs tell the WSJ that they didn’t receive their annual payment from PCH once it entered bankruptcy in April. ARB told the WSJ that it will only honor PCH prizes awarded after July 15, 2025.
The Veatchs were only the second to win the PCH “$5,000 a Week Forever” promo.
Casino.org has heard from many longtime PCH players who claim to have never won or received anything of value. It was different from the Veatchs, who say the sweeps money allowed them to take European trips and live comfortably without financial worry. They are raising three young children, living primarily off their Veterans Affairs benefits and the PCH income.
Darrell Lester, a retired PCH executive and author of “Downfall of an Icon: The True Inside Story of Publishers Clearing House,” told the WSJ that the company stopped taking out insurance policies on its sweeps promos in 2003.
ARB said it is taking such measures to make sure PCH prizes issued under its tenure are paid regardless of its own outcome.
We understand the concerns surrounding unpaid prizes owed to past winners and are taking decisive steps to ensure that every future prize winner can participate with absolute confidence. While ARB is not responsible for prize obligations incurred before our acquisition (except for those detailed below), we recognize the impact this has had on past winners and the disappointment caused by the bankruptcy process,” a rep for ARB told Casino.org.
“Under the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement, ARB assumed responsibility for post-petition prize liabilities and prize obligations tied to contests awarded after July 15, 2025. This includes two unawarded SuperPrizes — up to $2.5 million in total — that are currently being promoted, as well as the May 31, 2025 SuperPrize (awarded to Andrea Kass), up to $975,000. One of the two unawarded SuperPrizes will be awarded on September 30 for $1 million. As part of the acquisition, ARB also contributed a substantial cash payment to the bankruptcy estate,” the ARB statement continued.
“Looking ahead, we are planning to implement a robust, paying structure that stands separate from ARB to ensure that all future PCH prizes are honored, regardless of ARB’s financial status. This structure will ensure that prize winners are protected, that payments are secure for the long term and that their winnings are safeguarded from a recurrence of the challenges faced in the past. Our vision is to rebuild PCH as a brand synonymous with trust, excitement, and long-term integrity, and to ensure that every future winner can have full confidence their prizes will be paid in full, no matter what.”
Sweeps Controversies
Sweepstakes casinos have become wildly popular across the US, including in states where online casino gambling isn’t allowed.
Sweeps operators like ARB claim they run social gaming where real money purchases aren’t required. Critics say they’re illegal gambling operations because they sell a secondary digital token, sweeps coins, that can be played with on slots and table games, and winnings can be redeemed for cash.
Last Comments ( 40 )
Regardless of whpether they are disabled or not or if they are blowing their money. Promises were made.
They won the sweepstakes fair and square so how can we trust them this new company any more then we could trust the old one!!! . It’s absolutely criminal what they did to this couple! And to do it to two veterans with PTSD and three small children. I hope the casino is sued and loses everything.
The new owner may not be legally required to pay past winners and may not be financially able to pay the amounts won. They've certainly tainted the brand though, by not offering even a reduced payment or a lump sum. How people choose to use the money is irrelevant. The company obviously wouldn't have given them anything if they'd been using it to help widows and orphans. I've played PCH for years and only won $40, but I felt that I was dealing with a trustworthy business. That's no longer the case. I don't recall anything in the email that was sent out saying past winners were screwed. Despite their assurances, I wouldn't put too much faith in them.
Not all disabilities are visible disabilities. They ere promised 200k a year so there was no need to invest it differently. They could have planned differently so they created generational wealth but who knows what their debt was before they won.
Comments complain about disabled vets. Shame on you. Just because a vet is disabled doesn't mean their physical inept. Probably a disgusting liberal.
Being disabled doesn't always have a visable sign. If being a Veteran, it can be physical, mental, or PTSD. It could be a number of things. My husband and I are both disabled. He is a a Veteran too. But if you saw us on the street, you would never suspect we are disabled. Don't be so quick to point fingers and asume.
1. Armadillo, you're a douchebag. What branch did you serve in dickhead? 2. Joyce, who cares if they blew through the money. That's none of your concern. It was their money to do with as they pleased. They got screwed over. So much for 5k a week for life.
If they had been paying attention, keeping track of PCH's financials, they would have known that their business model was in trouble.! $200K for 4 years is $800K. I don't feel sorry for them. They probabaly quit their jobs and gave their bosses a one finger salute as they were going out the. door.!!!
PCH was nothing more than a fraud and scam anyway. Just like the ORANGE TURD
Joyce sounds like a Communist who hates anyone who has money!
Wow. So they're to just suck it up? No waaaya!! They'd have to run me my $$$
So, if someone wins a 'lifetime prize' without the option of 'lump sum payout' what it really means is at any time, the company can sell to another with terms in the purchase agreement precluding obligation to past winners. Can you imagine winning like this and seeing that these companies decide to sell every couple of years, or how about 'sell' to separate corporations they create. Well then, what you have really 'won' is less and that's before taxes which can take half of it or more! Wow!!!
If they received $200,000 annually for four years then they collected $800,000. And that's on top of the monthly military disability payments they collected, which are tax-free. And if either of them are actually physically disabled they're hiding it really well.
So it seems like the Veatch's blew through close to $400,000. in 4 years. They probably should have consulted with a financial advisor so they would have a substantial savings account!
That's wrong give them their money.