Clearing House publishers expands its sweepstakes business with casinos

Sweepstakes casinos have risen in popularity across America. As multiple states try to fend them off through bans and regulations, one of the more controversial companies to deal in sweepstakes is entering the market.

The move makes sense for the company, as Publishers Clearing House (PCH) is best known for its sweepstake competitions. Since 1967, the company has run them and is now planning on entering the sweepstakes casino market.

Sweepstake casinos don’t use regular money, allowing them to avoid most regulations. Instead, you buy “bundles” of “gold coins” and “sweep coins”. Gold coins are used to play the games without any money behind them, and sweep coins are used to allow for cash prizes. Often sweep coins are a one-to-one for the dollar.

PCH will partner with gambling firm, SCCG Management, to help manage this new move. SCCG will primarily target PCH’s new partnerships as it transitions to sweepstakes casino business, as well as other developments.

SCCG claims that part of its plans to succeed is by leveraging its expertise with PCH’s massive customer base.

Publishers Clearing House was originally a way for publishers to run subscriptions without needing to go door-to-door. In 1967, it began running sweepstake contests. These quickly spiralled from a 1 in 10 chance of winning a dollar or ten, to $250,000 as more people began to enter.

Trying to outdo their competition, who had raised the jackpot to $1 million, it eventually became a numbers game. In 2000, PCH was distributing $137 million in prizes. However, in 1992, it was discovered that PCH had tossed entrants who hadn’t subscribed to the main magazine business.

Lawsuits ensued, and after multiple other controversies, it eventually settled with 50 states and the FTC in 2023 had demanded that PCH change its process.

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