McDonald’s Reboots ‘Monopoly’ Despite Gambling Addiction Risks

The Monopoly Game at McDonald’s is back in the United States for the first time in nearly a decade, and the promotion has again stirred up concerns about problem gambling. 

Starting Oct. 6, 2025, consumers “can rediscover the thrill of the peel,” McDonald’s boasted in a late September 2025 announcement. This time around, the fast food chain encourages play through its mobile app.

“Our fans have been clamoring for the return of Monopoly at McDonald’s, and we’re thrilled to bring it back with a modern, digital spin,” said Alyssa Buetikofer, chief marketing and customer experience officer of McDonald’s USA.

Prizes in the game, which is essentially a lottery according to Keith Whyte, founder and president of Safer Gambling Strategies LLC, range from food to a $1 million cash prize.

To play, customers purchase menu items. However, to comply with sweepstakes laws, McDonald’s has a website, which it buried in its terms and conditions, for “alternative means of entry” game codes.

The relaunch came as sweepstakes casinos and sportsbooks, which use sweepstakes laws as a legal loophole for online gambling, have faced greater regulatory scrutiny in the U.S.

Why McDonald’s Monopoly is Risky

There are many gambling addiction-related concerns associated with McDonald’s Monopoly.

McDonald’s Monopoly can:

• Produce the dangerous near-miss effect
• Mimic a potentially addictive scratch-off mechanism
• Appeal to people with existing gambling problems
• Harm people in recovery from addiction
• Normalize gambling among young people
• Contribute to growing belief in gambling myths

“Someone’s bound to win – why not you? … Don’t just dream of Monopoly money – come play for the real thing. The next big winner could be you,” McDonald’s said in its announcement.

“This game has every essential feature of a lottery,” said Whyte, who led the National Council on Problem Gambling for over two decades. “It certainly plays and can excite users like a lottery, and it can contribute to negative experiences.”

Whyte said that he has never met anyone who directly attributed their gambling problem to McDonald’s Monopoly. Still, he has long had concerns about the game “habituating” young people to gambling.

Hasbro, the maker of Monopoly, has licensed the game for use in casinos as a slot machine for years. The company announced in July that it had reached a new deal with slot maker Aristocrat to develop the “next evolution of the Monopoly brand” in casinos.

Monopoly is also available as a so-called social casino slots app, which Google Play lists as suitable for a teen audience.

In 2018, Whyte spearheaded a successful effort to oppose a reckless McDonald’s Happy Meal campaign featuring Nintendo’s Super Mario figurine with a toy slot machine.

How McDonald’s Monopoly 2025 Works

Customers are encouraged to download the app and opt in to McDonald’s “rewards.”

Registered players can order select menu items and get a Monopoly game piece. 

Some food items get you a physical piece to peel off. Meanwhile, other food items earn you a digital piece when you order through the app or use a reward code.

Users collect game pieces over the course of the promotion to try to win cash and other prizes.

There are more than 30 eligible McDonald’s menu items.

What Can You Win in McDonald’s Monopoly?

According to Whyte, McDonald’s Monopoly’s prize structure can elicit the dangerous near-miss effect. Players can be lured into thinking that life-changing money is just another Big Mac away.

Prizes and their corresponding odds include:

• Food prize: 1 in 5
• MyMcDonald’s Rewards points prize: 1 in 107
• Audio-Technica Turntable Bundle: 1 in 59.3 million
• $10,000 Lowe’s shopping spree: 1 in 2.6 billion
• Trip for four to Kennedy Space Center: 1 in 3.1 billion
• Trip for four to Universal Orlando: 1 in 4.4 billion
• Motorcycle or similar vehicle: 1 in 11.1 billion
• 2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited: 1 in 13.1 billion
• One million American Airlines miles: 1 in 13.2 billion
• $1 million cash ($50,000 for 20 years): No listed odds

For comparison, the odds of winning the grand prize in Powerball are about 1 in 292 million.

While the game can avoid the legal classification of gambling, there are “no psychological exemptions” regarding potential harm, Whyte said.

“Parents are less inclined to have the gambling talk with their kids,” he added. “They don’t realize the psychological mechanisms.”

Does the Game Have Problem Gambling Protections?

McDonald’s Monopoly has no tools or safeguards for people with, or at risk of, gambling addiction.

Whyte said the game is another example of “how hard it is to be in recovery.”

“People in recovery might not be on guard going through a drive-thru to get a Big Mac,” he said.

Another recent example of a gambling partnership that does not bode well for Americans in gambling addiction recovery: the Delta Air Lines and DraftKings partnership.

Under the sweepstakes model, McDonald’s can run the game without being subject to any state gambling regulations. Thus, no state can require McDonald’s to display the 1-800-GAMBLER helpline number or provide any form of self-exclusion.

“The helpline number is never inappropriate,” Whyte said. “I’m a policy guy, and I’d like to think that there are things that could be done to mitigate risk.”

You can call 1-800-GAMBLER if you are having issues controlling your play of McDonald’s Monopoly. Help is available, and you shouldn’t feel ashamed if you have a problem.

“One of the amazing things about the recovery community is the sympathy, understanding, and grace,” Whyte said. “There are folks who understand how seemingly innocuous behaviors or activities can trigger someone to have thoughts and feelings related to gambling. The hallmarks of the helpline and support groups: No wrong door, no shame, and no stigma.”

McDonald’s Monopoly Game 2025 FAQ

Is McDonald’s Monopoly Gambling?

Legally, the promotion is considered a sweepstakes rather than a form of gambling.

Nonetheless, it is fundamentally a gambling game and can cause addiction and harm.

What Are the Odds for McDonald’s Monopoly?

Every time you play the game, you are more likely to win nothing than something.

There are a slew of different prizes in the game. Odds range from food items to $1 million in cash paid out in $50,000 installments over 20 years (with no interest).

The most likely food items to win are an apple pie or a small order of fries (1 in 25).

McDonald’s says it’s possible to win the $1 million prize, but it didn’t provide any odds.

Can You Play Without Buying Food?

Yes, it is possible to play without purchase, although very few people participate this way.

However, you must give McDonald’s your email and physical address to participate without purchase. So, you are still giving McDonald’s valuable information about yourself.

In the eyes of the law, the game is free to play. But in reality, it’s not free.

When Does the Game End?

The play pieces end on Nov. 23, 2025, but the “Bonus Play” ends Nov. 2.

The 2025 version of McDonald’s Monopoly finishes ahead of California’s new law banning sweepstakes-style gambling, which could have impacted the game.