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Review · Published 2026-08-31 · Updated 2026-09-25

PCH Lotto: big numbers on the label, nothing verifiable behind it

A free lotto-card app in its twelfth year on the App Store, whose advertised nightly $100,000 drawing has no reachable rules, on a build reviews describe as broken since spring.

Reviewed by Kyle Lewis, Editor

No purchase necessary C- Rank 06 · Score 48 · Grade C-
It stays ranked because the governing PCH rules regime is public, the NPN language is explicit, and the app sells nothing. It ranks last because everything specific to this app is currently unverifiable: the nightly and weekly drawings on the store label have no reachable rules, the app is reported broken since spring 2026, and the only winner evidence is a legacy row in the operator's own feed. A sweepstakes you cannot currently enter, into drawings we cannot currently verify, earns exactly this position.

Score 48 of 100

  • Free-entry purity21
  • Rules transparency9
  • Prize credibility10
  • Operator track record6
  • Entry experience2
C-

Why this grade

Listed unavailable: reviews describe months of technical failures, and the rules for its advertised nightly and Mega Prize drawings could not be found.

Earns points

  • Free lotto-style cards with no in-app purchases on either store.
  • PCH’s web drawings verifiably continue.

Loses points

  • Reviews report months of technical failures; last store update January 7, 2026. Entry experience −13
  • Rules for the advertised nightly $100,000 and $1.5M Mega Prize drawings unreachable; Google Play rates it Teen while the rules say 21+. Rules transparency −11
  • Nothing confirms the app’s nightly and weekly drawings are held. Prize credibility −10
  • Purchased and membership entries share PCH’s drawings. Free-entry purity −9
  • The same FTC order and bankruptcy record as PCH+. Operator track record −9
Full grading notes and dated updates

Same operator, ownership history, and FTC cap as PCH+ (PCH Digital, LLC / ARB Interactive; June 2023 FTC order; July 2025 asset sale with pre-sale prizes disclaimed per AP). Graded a step below on the numbers because the drawings specific to this app (nightly $100K, weekly $1.5M) have no reachable rules and no verifiable current conduct, the app is reported broken since spring 2026 with a last update in January, and the lottery-styled pitch sits on a Teen Play rating while PCH's own current rules say 21+.

Update, September 25, 2026: the three rules PDFs linked from pch.com/pages/official-rules now read “are eighteen (18) years of age or older at the time of entry” (retrieved September 25, 2026); only the FAQ at pch.com/pages/faq still carries a 21+ sentence beside an 18+ one. No score change. Sources: pch.com rules; both store listings; ftc.gov; AP.

Update, October 1, 2026: the rules page, its footer, the FAQ and both giveaway rules PDFs it links now read “are twenty-one (21) years of age or older at the time of entry” (pch.com/pages/official-rules and pch.com/pages/faq, retrieved October 1, 2026), so the Teen Play rating again sits against 21+ rules, as first graded. No score change.

Free-entry purity 21 / 30 · wt 30
Rules transparency 9 / 20 · wt 20
Prize credibility 10 / 20 · wt 20
Operator track record 6 / 15 · wt 15
Entry experience 2 / 15 · wt 15

What it is

  • PCH Lotto, on the App Store since November 2014, offers free lotto-style picks, scratch-off cards and drawings with lottery-sized labels.
  • Its store copy advertises a $100,000 nightly drawing and a $1.5 Million Mega Prize weekly drawing, with no in-app purchases.
  • Like PCH+, it is run by PCH Digital, LLC under ARB Interactive, Inc. since the July 15, 2025 bankruptcy sale.
  • The same June 2023 FTC order, bankruptcy history and operator-announced FDIC-escrow program for future prizes apply here; our PCH+ review covers them.
Read the full section (1 dated update)

PCH Lotto ("PCH Lotto - Real Cash Jackpots") has been on the App Store since November 2014: free lotto-style number picks, scratch-off token cards, and drawings with lottery-sized labels. The store copy advertises a $100,000 nightly lotto-style drawing, a $10,000 State of Play jackpot, and a $1.5 Million Mega Prize weekly drawing, and states that its "Lotto games are 100% FREE, with absolutely NO in-app purchases". It carries about 31,700 iOS ratings at 4.49 and 62,000 Play ratings at 4.4, with a million-plus installs.

Update, October 1, 2026: the Play listing shows 4.3 stars on about 62,200 reviews (retrieved October 1, 2026).

The operator chain is the same as PCH+: PCH Digital, LLC, under ARB Interactive, Inc., since the July 15, 2025 bankruptcy sale. The same June 2023 FTC order, the same disclaimed pre-sale prizes per Associated Press reporting, and the same operator-announced FDIC-escrow program for future prizes all apply here; our PCH+ review covers that history in full.

What we could not verify

  • We could not reach the game-specific rules for any drawing on the app's label, and the rebuilt pch.com never mentions PCH Lotto.
  • We do not know whether the advertised nightly $100,000 drawing is currently conducted.
  • The only verifiable app-specific prize record is one legacy, undated $1.5M Mega Prize winner in PCH's winners feed.
  • With nothing reachable behind the label, the transparency score is 9 of 20.
Read the full section (1 dated update)

Every drawing named on this app's label is unverifiable today. The game-specific rules for Dream Come True, State of Play, and the Mega Prize are not reachable anywhere we could open: the app is reported broken, the legacy PCH help portals render empty, and the rebuilt pch.com never mentions PCH Lotto. We do not know whether the nightly $100,000 drawing is currently conducted. PCH's winners feed showcases a legacy $1.5M Mega Prize winner, undated in the feed. That is the entire verifiable prize record specific to this app.

Update, September 25, 2026: the winners-list URL printed in two of the three rules PDFs pch.com links today (the GWY M001 Corvette rules and the GWY W017 $5,000 weekly rules), https://www.pch.com/winnerslist, returned HTTP 404 on September 25, 2026, while the official-rules page links the working https://www.pch.com/pages/our-winners (retrieved September 25, 2026, "Showing 727 of 727 winners"). The record behind that page is intact, so this is a caveat, not a deduction. No score change.

The store copy's vintage is unknown. When the label of a live store listing advertises a nightly $100,000 drawing, with winners guaranteed for its daily giveaway and instant scratch prizes, and nothing reachable backs any of it, a ranking built on opened sources scores the transparency axis accordingly: 9 of 20.

The outage, and the pools

  • Both store listings are unchanged at the January 7, 2026 build, and reviews through September 30, 2026 report the app not working for months.
  • Status is unavailable and entry experience scores 2 of 15.
  • To whatever extent its entries feed PCH's flagship giveaways, those pools are also filled by paid entries, all pooled equally per the current rules.
  • The successor Corvette or $65,000 giveaway keeps the same pooling terms and counts each mail-in entry as 1,850 entries.
Read the full section (3 dated updates)

The last update on both stores was January 7, 2026. Dated 2026 reviews report months of "technical difficulties" since April, describe the app as abandoned, and one long-term player's review reports ten years of play without a single win, while surrounding reviews report the app no longer opens. As with PCH+, the status chip reads unavailable, and the entry-experience score is 2 of 15.

Update, September 25, 2026: both store listings are unchanged at the January 7, 2026 build (Apple lookup API for id 879181060, retrieved September 25, 2026: version 6.8.6803). The outage evidence re-verified on September 25, 2026 is from the App Store: Apple's customer-reviews feed for id 879181060 (retrieved September 25, 2026) carries reviews dated September 14 to 20, 2026 that still report the app will not open (September 20, 2026: "This app is completely broken, PLEASE FIX!"), and the dated since-April report is an App Store review too. Play-side 2026 reviews were not retrieved. The status stays unavailable and the score does not change.

Update, October 1, 2026: the newest Google Play review of PCH Lotto (com.pch.lottoblast, retrieved October 1, 2026), dated September 30, 2026, reads “has been having technical issues for months, never works”; the newest review in the App Store feed is still the September 20, 2026 one, and both listings are unchanged at the January 7, 2026 build. Status stays unavailable; no score change.

The pool-sharing caveat carries over too: to whatever extent the app's marquee entries feed PCH's flagship giveaways (the store copy promises a daily SuperPrize entry), those pools are also fed by Entry Boosts sold at one entry per dollar, Quick Entries packs, and membership auto-entries, all pooled equally per the current rules PDFs.

Update, September 25, 2026: the $1M SuperPrize giveaway those PDFs describe, GWY #23097, has closed; its rules PDF (cdn.shopify.com, GWY23097-June-Sept.pdf, retrieved September 25, 2026) reads "All entries must be postmarked by September 22, 2026". The successor, GWY M001 (Chevrolet Corvette or $65,000), runs on the same pooling terms and keeps the mail route: its official rules PDF (retrieved September 25, 2026) reads "The period beginning on 8/17/26 and ending on 10/31/26." and "Each mail-in entry received will be equal to 1,850 entries."

One more label problem

Google Play rates this app Teen while PCH's current per-giveaway rules say 21+ (eighteen as of September 19, 2026, so the label mismatch is narrower than stated but still a mismatch), and the presentation is deliberately lottery-styled ("you could become a multi-millionaire in no time"). The iOS side is rated 17+, displayed as Ages 18+ under Apple's updated rating tiers. A sweepstakes app that looks like a state lottery, rated for teenagers, whose controlling rules require entrants to be 21, is a mismatch we flag rather than explain away. Update, October 1, 2026: PCH’s rules are back at 21+ in every document we opened on that date, so the mismatch is as first stated.

How it makes money, and what it takes

Takes: attention, data

Runs ads in the app and sells nothing in it.

Apple's listing carries "Contains Advertising" and no In-App Purchases section; Google Play shows a "Contains ads" badge and no in-app purchases badge. No document we opened says who funds the drawings this app advertises. The app itself has been reported dark since early April 2026.

Who it is for

Nobody right now: the app does not reliably open, and the drawings on its label cannot be verified. If PCH Digital revives it with reachable rules and dated winners, the lotto-card format is a genuinely pleasant free-entry mechanic and this listing will be rescored. Until then, PCH's web giveaways, with their published rules and generous mail AMOE, are the only PCH doors we can evaluate. Never pay anyone to claim a PCH prize.

Questions readers ask

Is PCH Lotto legit?

The brand and the governing PCH rules are real, but everything specific to this app is currently unverifiable: its advertised nightly $100,000 drawing has no reachable rules, dated reviews report months of technical difficulties since spring 2026, and the app was last updated in January 2026. We could not confirm its drawings are currently conducted.

Is PCH Lotto free?

Yes: the iOS listing states its lotto games are 100% FREE with absolutely NO in-app purchases, and neither store declares purchases. The same ecosystem caveat as PCH+ applies: paid entry products sold on pch.com feed PCH's flagship drawings.

Sources we opened

Official site Official rules Back to ranking
  • Reviews report the app broken for months and describe it as abandoned; the newest Google Play review, dated September 30, 2026, reports months of technical issues. Both listings are unchanged at the January 7, 2026 build. Status stays unavailable.
    Read the full text (2 dated updates)

    Reviews report the app broken for months as of August 2026 and describe it as abandoned; last store update January 7, 2026.

    Update, September 25, 2026: the dated since-April review and the newer reports are App Store reviews; those dated September 14 to 20, 2026 (Apple customer-reviews feed for id 879181060, retrieved September 25, 2026) still report the app will not open. Play-side 2026 reviews were not retrieved.

    Update, October 1, 2026: the newest Google Play review of PCH Lotto (com.pch.lottoblast, retrieved October 1, 2026), dated September 30, 2026, reads “has been having technical issues for months, never works”; the newest review in the App Store feed is still the September 20, 2026 one, and both listings are unchanged at the January 7, 2026 build. Status stays unavailable; no score change.

  • The advertised nightly $100,000 and weekly $1.5M drawings could not be verified as currently running; their game-specific rules are unreachable.
  • Purchased entries share pools with free entries in PCH's flagship giveaways, per the current rules PDFs.
  • Same ownership history as PCH+: FTC 2023 order, 2025 bankruptcy, pre-July-2025 prizes disclaimed (AP), future prizes escrowed.
  • Google Play rates it Teen while PCH's rules page, its footer, the FAQ and both linked giveaway rules PDFs say 21+ (retrieved October 1, 2026), so the label mismatch stands.
    Read the full text (2 dated updates)

    Google Play rates it Teen while the current PCH giveaway rules say 21+.

    Update, September 25, 2026: the linked rules PDFs now say 18+; the 21+ sentence survives only in the FAQ.

    Update, October 1, 2026: the rules page, its footer, the FAQ and both linked giveaway rules PDFs say 21+ (retrieved October 1, 2026), so the label mismatch is as first stated.

  • PCH will never ask you to pay to claim a prize.