Publishers Clearing House (PCH), which is now owned by a social gaming company, has nailed its colors to the mast when it comes to California’s high-profile effort to ban online sweepstakes gaming.
PCH sent a letter this week to the California Senate Appropriations Committee to express “strong opposition” to Assembly Bill 831 in its current form, and advocate for a longer path to regulation rather than a fast track to prohibition.
It’s interesting to note that PCH’s letter, dated Aug. 27, aligns the company with non-gaming brands such as McDonald’s and Pepsi. As others have done, PCH asserted that the bill risks criminalizing free-play non-gambling sweepstakes promotions and contests, as well as potentially pushing legitimate operators out and leaving consumers vulnerable to a lack of oversight or consumer safeguards.
PCH has a decades-long history of offering sweepstakes promotions and said in the letter that it has awarded nearly $500 million in prizes to date. As of July 2025, it is owned by ARB Interactive, Inc., a major American social casino company that operates the Modo Casino platform, which allows for the kind of dual-currency online play that AB 831 is targeting.
In the light, not the shadows
In its letter, PCH labeled sweepstakes promotions and social gaming as inherently free and lawful products.
“Sweepstakes promotions are lawful marketing mechanisms that encourage optional in-game purchases of virtual tokens to enhance gameplay on online platforms,” the company wrote. “These tokens have no cash value, cannot be redeemed, transferred or traded, clearly distinguishing the social gaming model from real-money gambling.
“Online social gaming is an entertainment alternative that allows people to play online social casino-style games in a fun, low-pressure setting without the risk of losing money. Players can always play for free with ongoing access to free gold coins and robust alternative methods of entry (AMOE), ensuring no purchase is ever required.”
The company stressed that it is focused on offering legal free-to-play contests, and also emphasized its status as a taxpayer, job creator and economic contributor in California.
“Contrary to claims that this industry is unregulated or operates in the shadows, PCH operates transparently under established consumer protection laws, not gaming law,” stated the letter.
Pump the brakes and talk to us
As sweepstakes gaming operators like VGW have done in California and other states, PCH advocated for regulation rather than exclusion. The company cited industry projections suggesting that a regulated social gaming and sweepstakes sector could generate up to $149 million in annual sales tax revenue, and also wrote that more than 20,000 Californians have contacted legislators to say that they play these games and don’t want them banned.
“AB 831 was introduced on an expedited timeline without sufficient industry input, economic analysis or evidence of harm. We urge the California Legislature to pause this rushed legislation, extend it to a two-year timeline and engage with stakeholders to develop a thoughtful regulatory framework.”
PCH also argued that not only does the gut-and-amend AB 831 lack thorough stakeholder input or economic analysis, it also does not provide evidence of the harm that sweepstakes gaming cause. Instead, it claimed this legislative effort, backed by most California gaming tribes, is rooted in anti-competitive motives.
AB 831 is broadly supported by most of California’s 100+ federally regulated tribes and co-sponsored by the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation and the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA).
The tribal support is not universal, as three smaller tribes have already spoken out against the effort to ban sweeps: the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Big Lagoon Rancheria and the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation of the Cortina Rancheria. Kletsel’s economic arm has partnered with VGW in addition to opposing the bill.
