Illinois gambling regulators say a website called Modo “is engaged in the operation of an illegal online casino in violation of the Illinois Criminal Code.”
Arizona’s Department of Gaming has described Modo as a “felony criminal enterprise.”
A federal lawsuit in California accuses Modo of engaging in “predatory conduct” that has included taking advantage of a man with bipolar disorder who told company representatives he couldn’t help himself from visiting the website and ended up losing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Yet one of Illinois Senate President Don Harmon’s campaign funds accepted a contribution this year from Modo’s parent company, ARB Interactive, for $50,000, one of the biggest contributions in 2026 to Friends of Don Harmon for State Senate, records show.
Asked about taking the money, Harmon’s campaign now says it will donate the same amount to local charities.
The money was given to Harmon sometime after he met with ARB officials for about 15 minutes this past winter, according to a Harmon spokesman, who says Modo’s priorities weren’t discussed.
“Senate President Harmon has long been among the most skeptical voices in Springfield as to the wisdom of putting a slot machine in every Illinoisan’s pocket, and he remains so today,” the spokesman says.
The contribution to the Oak Park Democrat — whose position gives him considerable input on which legislation moves forward or dies — was recorded on Jan. 6, according to Illinois State Board of Elections filings.
The Illinois Gaming Board sent a “cease-and-desist” letter to Modo in February in which it said: “On January 15, 2026, the IGB observed that you offered Illinois users the ability to play slots and table games (‘Games’) through both the internet and mobile devices. The Games gave users the opportunity to win cash, gift cards, and other prizes in violation of Illinois law.”
The contribution arrived days before the start of a legislative session in which gambling regulation was to be discussed but ultimately didn’t advance.
Also, in a contribution dated March 10, an employee of ARB Interactive gave $2,500 to the campaign fund of state Rep. Bob Rita, D-Blue Island. Rita has been one of the Legislature’s point people on gambling and has, like Harmon, taken other contributions from the gambling industry over the years.
Before this year, ARB hadn’t contributed to any Illinois political fund.
This year, the company also hired the Illinois lobbying firm run by Dan Shomon, records show.
“Online gambling is ‘gambling fentanyl,’ ” says Les Bernal of Stop Predatory Gambling, an advocacy group. “That’s how dangerous it is, that’s how addictive it is,” especially for “young people.”
“Politicians accepting money from these gambling fentanyl dealers, it’s like accepting campaign donations from the Mexican drug cartels,” Bernal said.
Overseen by Gov. JB Pritzker, the gaming board regulates casinos, sports betting and video gambling in Illinois. It’s been trying to crack down on an explosion of so-called gray-area gambling in restaurants and bars, and online.
It has sent threatening letters to companies operating in that realm, Modo among them.
The gaming board letter to the company also says: “It is unlawful to knowingly establish, maintain or operate an Internet site that permits a person to play a game of chance or skill for money or other thing of value via the Internet, or that permits a person to make a wager upon the result of any sport, game, contest, political nomination, appointment or election via the Internet, without an IGB-issued license.
“The IGB has neither licensed nor authorized Modo to engage in online gambling activity.”
According to a spokesman for the company, “ARB Interactive respectfully disagrees with the Illinois Gaming Board’s legal interpretation and has provided the board with a detailed legal analysis supporting our position that our platform operates lawfully under Illinois law.
“We have requested the opportunity to meet with the board multiple times and remain committed to constructive engagement as we work to resolve this issue.
“Any political contributions made by or on behalf of the company were lawful, publicly disclosed and fully compliant with applicable campaign-finance laws.”
It’s unclear what more the gaming board might do. One of its central jobs is ensuring integrity in the industry. But the Sun-Times has reported on a series of questionable actions and failings by gambling regulators — who have, in some instances, tried to keep a lid on embarrassing missteps.
The Modo website remains accessible to Illinoisans.
A gaming board spokeswoman says: “The IGB’s work to protect Illinois patrons from unlicensed and unregulated gambling operators is an ongoing initiative. Part of that includes the cease-and-desist letters the IGB is issuing in coordination with the Illinois attorney general’s office to unlicensed and illegal online operators offering casino, sweepstakes gambling and sports wagering.
“IGB staff is engaged in various ways with a number of these letter recipients including Modo, and we cannot comment further on the status of ongoing investigation and potential enforcement matters. The IGB continues to monitor these developments and evaluate all available tools for potential future steps to combat illegal gambling and protect Illinoisans.”
Modo top executive Patrick Fechtmeyer won’t comment. In interviews with industry publications this year, he spoke of the importance of governments regulating rather than seeking to shut down operations such as his — indicating that a ban won’t stop these games but might instead push them offshore.
“When it comes to digital economies, you ban something, but the Internet is frictionless, so it’s not difficult for someone to go to the next website,” he told one publication amid a push by Indiana to outlaw such “sweepstakes-style” games.
ARB officials won’t comment on the California lawsuit, which says the company “disguised its gambling operations as a ‘sweepstakes’ platform to evade gambling regulations.”
The plaintiff in the case was on the Modo site for many hours some days and at one time “requested demotion from Black Diamond VIP status as a form of self-protection,” according to the lawsuit, which says an employee of the site told him: “I cannot do that to you. You deserve to be there.”