Whatever Happened To Publishers Clearing House?

Publishers Clearing House started in 1953 as a family business that sold magazine subscriptions by mail. Yet, the sweepstakes company, as it became known as, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2025, in New York — one of the states with the highest bankruptcy rates in America. The judge approved a bidding plan in May , signed off on the sale in June, and the deal was finalized July 2025 .

During the proceedings, many former sweepstakes winners stopped getting their prize checks. After the sale officially closed, the company's new owners, ARB Interactive, stated it would only continue paying prize money that was awarded on or after July 15, 2025 — the date they took control — with any winnings from before that date having to go through the bankruptcy process. ARB did say it would make a few exceptions, like covering two SuperPrizes that hadn't been awarded yet, and up to $975,000 connected to the May 31, 2025 SuperPrize. However, past winners had to fill out a Proof of Claim form and the deadline to file was July 14, 2025.

Publishers Clearing House was facing a bevy of problems before its bankruptcy. It told the court that fewer people were responding to its mail offers than ever before, making it harder to find new customers. Meanwhile, the cost of running the business was rising. Between July 2020 and July 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, via FRED, found that the price of paper went up 31.3%. Since PCH depended largely on physical paper to run its business, these higher prices hurt their bottom line. Also, companies like Amazon and Walmart changed consumer expectations around faster delivery and cheaper prices, making PCH's old mail-based system unable to keep up — a problem that also featured in the downfall of Sears. As fewer people placed orders, PCH's sales fell from $658 million in 2021 to $487 million in 2022, before dropping to $182 million in 2024. 

To add to this, in June 2023, the Federal Trade Commission required PCH to pay $18.5 million in refunds to consumers, and to follow stricter rules. The company was no longer allowed to suggest that buying something was needed to win or that it would boost someone's chances. The FTC also required PCH to separate its sweepstakes from its shopping arm, and to show all shipping costs up front. PCH was also forced to stop using misleading email subjects and to delete old customer data. As of April 2025, the FTC reported that over $18 million in refunds had been sent to 281,724 people.

After ARB Interactive purchased Publishers Clearing House through a court-approved sale, it set up PCH Digital LLC to manage and operate PCH. The brand is now more focused on online games – consumers can play online games, or watch ads, either through the official PCH app or website. By doing this, they can earn tokens that can be used to enter drawings for cash and/or other prizes.

Under it new ownership, PCH rules and products have changed. PCH dropped its old mail-order catalog and magazine store altogether as the company moves to a digital model based on free games and advertising instead. PCH says it never charges a fee, or tax, to claim a prize and will never ask for your bank account to release winnings. With that said, if you win $600 or more in a single year, the company will ask for your Social Security number so it can send a Form 1099 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Under this new model, Publishers Clearing House is undoubtedly hoping to be among the companies that went bankrupt and came roaring back.