A McDonald's Monopoly Scam May Be to Blame for Canceling the Game for Almost 10 Years

One of the most sought-after fast food promotions of the '90s was arguably the Monopoly game at McDonald’s. Customers could peel back a little tab on their fries or drink cups and reveal instant prize coupons, for things like a free large French fry or a breakfast sandwich. Other prizes, however, included cars and even large cash prizes with the right game pieces collected over time. So, why did McDonald’s get rid of Monopoly originally?

It seemed like there was a frequent Monopoly promotion happening at the fast food chain throughout the '90s. In September 2025, McDonald’s announced in a press release that the game would be back, with the ability to collect game pieces digitally after scanning one of those satisfyingly peeled pieces off of food and drink containers. But many customers want to know why McDonald’s ever got rid of the game in the first place.

The idea behind how to play Monopoly through McDonald’s was simple. Either your game piece let you know which food or drink item you could get free at your next visit to McDonald’s, or, if you saved three game pieces of the same kind, you could win a cash prize. If customers saved the right collection of pieces, they could even win up to $1 million.

That promise likely led to the scam that appeared to put a pause on the McDonald’s Monopoly game in the early 2000s. According to Chowhound, a former police officer, Jerome Jacobson, who worked with the marketing company that printed the game pieces, made it so he knew who would win the cash prizes and then received a cut of that money himself.

McDonald’s has not said that’s why the game stopped, but it would make sense for that to contribute to the decision to pause it for years. Per CNBC, Jerome gave winning game pieces to family members and close associates, with one ticket being worth $200,000. The scam likely posed too large a risk for McDonald’s to continue the promotion throughout the years.

The last time McDonald’s did Monopoly before 2025 was in 2016, though the game at that time was a bit different. An ad for the game, which was called Money Monopoly, showed that there were more chances to win cash.

For the 2025 version, the stakes are pretty high again.

There is also a bonus game on the app that customers can play.

Per the press release, “All you have to do is order your faves from the Monopoly at McDonald’s menu, then peel and play — using the app to collect your property pieces and redeem any prizes you win, like dream vacations, a new ride, and more. Each game piece also earns you a Bonus Play for a second chance to win in the app ... with the opportunity to win everything from free food to a $1 million cash prize!”