Publishers Clearing House, the longstanding United States-based direct marketing and sweepstakes company recently acquired by sweeps operator ARB Interactive, has made a new commitment to paying out all future PCH prizes — something that, before the ARB Interactive acquisition, the previous regime reportedly struggled to accomplish in recent times.
This commitment is called the Prize Protection Program, the PCH announced its creation in a press release sent out Tuesday afternoon.
According to the press release, the Prize Protection Program “guarantees that all future PCH prizes are honored regardless of ARB’s financial status. Funded with investment-grade assets held in FDIC-insured escrow accounts and managed through a bank-run investment vehicle, the program safeguards payments for large annuity prizes and reflects PCH’s commitment to trust and accountability.”
Former Meta executive named new CEO of PCH
In its Tuesday release, PCH also announced the appointment of Owen O’Donoghue as its new CEO. The main goal for O’Donoghue is to help revitalize a PCH brand that had grown stale in recent years as the company struggled to acclimate to the modern digital landscape.
Some background on O’Donoghue:
- He has more than 15 years of experience in the gaming and technology space, and he’s held leadership roles at both global corporations and startups.
- At Facebook (now Meta), he served as Director of Gaming, working on partnerships with leading developers in Europe and North America to grow the platform’s gaming ecosystem.
- He later co-founded InfiniGods, where as Chief Revenue Officer he worked to advance blockchain-driven gaming experiences designed to reach worldwide audiences.
“Owen O’Donoghue’s expertise in gaming and digital engagement makes him the perfect leader to guide PCH into its next chapter,” said Patrick Fechtmeyer, CEO of ARB Interactive, in the press release. “His proven ability to drive innovation and build consumer trust aligns seamlessly with our mission to reimagine PCH as a leader in mobile-first, advertising-supported entertainment while honoring its iconic sweepstakes tradition.”
Added O’Donoghue: “I am thrilled to join Publishers Clearing House at this pivotal moment. With the Prize Protection Program, we are combining PCH’s iconic sweepstakes heritage with modern, secure digital experiences, ensuring every winner is protected while introducing mobile-first gaming that excites and engages users nationwide. We believe programs like this represent an industry best practice, and such safeguards should be standard to protect all sweepstakes participants.”
A clear objective for ARB Interactive
This is the first major move for ARB Interactive, which owns Modo Casino, a popular sweeps casino in the U.S., since its acquisition of PCH was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in July.
ARB Interactive has been pretty clear with its intentions for PCH: It will try to give PCH a renewed mobile-first focus built on trust, transparency, and player-first values — and it will fuel this transition with the free-to-play gaming engine powered by the Modo Casino platform.
Although the PCH brand has faded in recent years, ARB Interactive still claims the platform has access to more than 38 million verified users. So there’s certainly an opportunity here.
Background on PCH bankruptcy, alleged missed payments
PCH, which became iconic over the years for how it would pop up at winners’ doors with giant checks, filed for bankruptcy in April. At that time, the company had only $490,000 in disposable cash while owing $40 million to employees, landlords, service providers, and vendors.
And, as a result, according to reporting from the Washington Post, some PCH winners of the lifetime or “forever” prizes claimed they were not receiving their weekly payments.
As part of the terms of the purchase, ARB Interactive is not responsible for paying out prizes to winners that won prior to the acquisition. Instead, the Prize Protection Program is a commitment to prevent history from ever repeating itself — that, even if ARB Interactive runs into financial issues, no PCH winner will ever go without receiving the payments they’re due, using FDIC-insured escrow accounts to back that guarantee.
