Several states have taken up the fight against online sweepstakes casinos in 2025 by proposing legislation to ban the vertical outright. California may be one to turn heads like no other.
A revamped version of Assembly Bill 831, overhauled by Assemblymember Avelino Valencia and backed by the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA), would explicitly outlaw all online gambling, including casino-style or sports betting-style sweepstakes. Sweepstakes are directly mentioned by name 20 times in the text, including in the bill’s title.
AB 831 was initially a short bill that tweaked California’s tribal-state compact law to allow legislators a longer amount of time to review compacts upon their return from recess. The Assembly passed the bill in May before it was ordered to the inactive file by the Senate earlier this month.
Now, the legislation has been completely transformed into a hard-hitting ban on sweeps.
An almighty pivot
The new version would amend both the state’s Business and Professions Code and Penal Code to explicitly namecheck online and mobile sweepstakes as an unfair practice and an unlawful gaming product.
It would ban any online sweeps game, defined as a product that:
- Is available online or via mobile
- Utilizes a dual-currency system of payment
- Allows a person to play or participate with direct consideration (a playable token of game value that can be purchased or received through a bonus or promotion) or indirect consideration (a token of game value that may be exchanged for or used as a chance to win a prize, cash or cash equivalents and which is provided for free through a promotion, bonus or with the purchase of a playable token of game value)
- Awards cash or cash equivalents
- Simulates casino-style gambling, including but not limited to slots, video poker, casino table games, lottery gaming, bingo and sports betting
Like anti-sweeps legislation in multiple other states, the bill doesn’t just target operators and promoters of sweeps but also any person, entity, financial institution, payment processor, geolocation provider, gaming content supplier, platform provider or media affiliate who directly or indirectly supports an online sweepstakes game. That is similar to the sweepstakes legislation that was passed by the New York legislature and is currently awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature.
It also aims at sweeps’ media affiliate partners, language that would seem to apply to high-profile celebrities like Ryan Seacrest who promote such offerings.
Anyone found to have violated the ban would be guilty of a misdemeanor offense and could face up to $25,000 in fines and up to one year in county jail.
Retailer promotions are fine
What it doesn’t do is prohibit the kind of non-cash promotional sweepstakes for grocery stores or other vendors that sell consumer goods. Games that do not award cash prizes or cash equivalents would not be unlawful.
What some call “the Starbucks argument” has been cited in numerous committee hearings in various states this year, and was the subject of scrutiny from the Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA), which used the argument that sweeps bans would make those types of free-to-play promotions illegal.
But, wait a minute…
The bill is sponsored by the San Manuel Nation, a federally recognized tribe of Serrano people in San Bernardino County. The nation owns and operates Yaamava’ Resort and Casino.
Yaamava Resort and Casino appears to operate an online social casino called PlayOnline. The resort’s promotions page lists offerings such as The Factory Sweepstakes and a Fall Surprizes Sweepstakes. The site does not offer cash prizes directly, but gives players the chance to win thousands of dollars in real-money casino credits.
Other casino operators like MGM and Hard Rock have ties to similar casino sites that seem to be in conflict with the bill.
SPGA slams ‘backroom ban’
In a statement provided to SBC Americas, the SPGA criticized what it called “California lawmakers’ decision to attempt a backroom ban on promotional sweepstakes through a controversial ‘gut and amend’ maneuver hours before a legislative deadline.”
“This isn’t how sound policy gets made,” said a spokesperson for the SPGA. “A last-minute effort to outlaw legal digital games, without public debate, expert input or economic analysis, sends a chilling message to entrepreneurs, innovators and investors across the state.
“California voters didn’t sign on for backroom deals dictated by powerful political interests. With the state facing wildfires, a housing crisis, and a full federal assault on Californians’ rights, it’s astounding that any lawmaker would make banning mobile games a priority.”
From bad to worse for sweeps industry
There is a long way to go if this bill in California is to become law.
But the most populous state introducing a measure to explicitly define and outlaw sweeps is one of the biggest body blows in an ongoing fight.
New York and four other states — Connecticut, Montana, Nevada and Louisiana – have all passed online sweepstakes bans in recent months, although the Louisiana ban was vetoed by Gov. Jeff Landry. Meanwhile, outside of the legislature, numerous states’ gambling regulators have taken their own action to try to shut down sweepstakes by sending swaths of cease-and-desist orders.
