TLDR
- Illinois Senate President Don Harmon’s campaign will send $50,000 to charity after receiving a donation from ARB Interactive, the company behind online gambling platform Modo.
- The Illinois Gaming Board sent Modo a cease-and-desist notice, saying it offered unlicensed casino games to state residents.
- Harmon’s office says a 15-minute meeting with ARB Interactive representatives did not include talk about gambling business.
- ARB Interactive disputes the state’s legal position and says its platform follows Illinois law.
- The company also faces scrutiny in Arizona and a federal lawsuit in California over its sweepstakes gambling model.
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon is giving away a large campaign donation instead of keeping it. His campaign says it will send $50,000 to local charities after questions came up about where the money came from.
The donation came from ARB Interactive. This company runs Modo, an online platform that lets people play casino-style games.
State records show the donation was made on January 6. A few weeks later, the Illinois Gaming Board sent Modo a formal warning letter.
That letter, called a cease-and-desist notice, accused Modo of letting Illinois residents play slot and table games for cash and prizes. Regulators say the company never had a license to do this in the state.
The donation happened right before lawmakers came back for a new session. Gambling rules were expected to come up for debate, though no major changes passed this year.
Brief Meeting, No Gambling Talk, Campaign Says
Harmon’s office confirmed he met with people from ARB Interactive during the winter. The meeting lasted about 15 minutes.
A spokesperson for Harmon said the company’s gambling business did not come up during that meeting. The campaign also says Harmon has long been against expanding online casino gambling in the state.
Still, the donation stood out. ARB Interactive had never given money to Illinois political campaigns before this year.
The company also hired a lobbying firm in Illinois around the same time. State Representative Bob Rita, who works on gambling laws, also got a donation tied to the company. An employee gave his campaign $2,500 in March.
Regulators Continue Pursuing Modo
Illinois officials have taken a firm stance against Modo. The Gaming Board says state law bans online gambling sites from offering games involving money or prizes without a license.
Regulators confirmed Modo has never received that license. The investigation is still active.
Officials say they are working with the Illinois Attorney General’s office on the case. They are also looking at other steps they could take against the company.
Even after the warning, Modo’s website is still working for users in Illinois.
ARB Interactive says its platform follows Illinois law. The company has shared its own legal review and asked regulators to meet and talk things through.
The company also says its donations followed campaign finance rules and were reported publicly.
The legal pressure is not limited to Illinois. Arizona officials have called Modo a criminal enterprise that broke state law there.
The company is also fighting a lawsuit in California. That case claims Modo’s sweepstakes setup was built to get around gambling laws.
Court papers in that case say a customer with bipolar disorder lost hundreds of thousands of dollars on the platform. He reportedly asked to lower his VIP status to cut back on his activity, but the request was turned down.
ARB Interactive has not responded publicly to the claims made in the California lawsuit. The case remains open.
