Anti-sweepstakes bill passes California Senate vote unanimously
Bill AB 831 has been passed through the senate on third reading with a 36-0 vote – the legislation that would ban sweepstakes will now pass to the lower house.
Key points:
– Bill AB 831 has passed unanimously through the Californian Senate
– The bill would prohibit sweepstakes style casinos and daily fantasy sports in the state
– It must now pass through the Assembly before Governor Newsom passes judgement
The Californian Senate has dealt a considerable blow to those lobbying to preserve the legality of sweepstakes in the state, voting to pass Bill AB 831 through to the lower house.
The gut-and-amend bill was expedited into the upper house as technically it is replacing and modifying existing legislation rather than introducing a new law entirely.
So far, the bill has been granted utterly safe passage through the legislature and not received a single dissenting vote – 36 ayes and zero noes are recorded as having been submitted at the vote on 8 September.
To pass into law, it will now enter the Assembly where the party-split is much the same as it is in the Senate, with the Democrats holding a veto-proof ‘supermajority.’
Though indeed, since its introduction, the bill has retained near comprehensive cross-party support.
The bill’s principal antagonists are the Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) and the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA), which have been able to count on the support of a limited number of tribal representatives who have expressed fears that the bill will unduly penalise less economically secure tribes.
By and large, the tribes have thrown their support behind the bill, as it promises to maintain the integrity of the reservations’ de facto gambling monopolies.
In the wake of the recent senate whitewash, Victor Rocha, Conference Chair of the Indian Gaming Association said on X: “All the whining and snivelling from the Moron Twins – SPGA and SLGA – did absolutely nothing. They could have stayed home and had the same results. Now we’re discussing a second line of attack. This thing far from over.”
Good to know: The legality of sweepstakes style casinos is also being contested in the courts, with Stake.us and a number of its suppliers having been named in a civil lawsuit by the State Attorney, Hydee Feldstein Soto
The last amendment to the bill softened the language to clarify the legal status of mainstream promotional sweepstakes promotions that function like promotional competitions – e.g promotions run by companies like McDonalds or charitable organisations.
If the bill, as expected, progresses through the Assembly, it will reside with Governor Gavin Newsom to sign.
The California Attorney General, Rob Bonta has previously given his opinion on Daily Fantasy Sports, suggesting he found them to be equivalent to a form of betting and therefore should be illegal.
Governor Newsom’s office did not align itself with this opinion at the time – Bill AB 831 would also outlaw DFS, though if the Governor felt strongly enough to refuse to sign the bill, it would come as a shock.
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