Sweepstakes ban confirmed by Governor of California

After passing unopposed through the State Assembly and State Senate, the anti-sweepstakes Assembly Bill 831 needed only the assent of Governor Gavin Newsom to pass into law, something it received in Sacramento on Friday October 11. 

While there has been vocal opposition from the sweepstakes themselves and those who felt the language of the bill was too vague, from the third time the wording was revised, it advanced through the legislature without a single dissenting vote. 

The Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA) is a trade association representing the now restricted operators and has been central to protestations against the bill. 

Reacting to the news that Governor Newsom had put his signature to the bill, the SGLA said: “Tribes such as Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, the Sherwood Valley Rancheria of Pomo Indians, the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria, and Big Lagoon Rancheria have opposed AB 831 because it would limit economic opportunities available to tribes lacking the resources of wealthier gaming tribes and encroach on their tribal sovereignty.” 

The support of some of the aforementioned Tribal communities was one of the SGLA’s most prominent avenues of opposition to the bill, though it also sought to persuade legislators of the negative economic impact banning sweepstakes would have. 

Good to know: A number of polls in recent months have pitched Gavin Newsom as the frontrunner for selection as the Democrat candidate for the next presidential election 

When it came down to voting, despite protests outside Government buildings, the Senate unanimously passed the bill 36 to zero, and subsequently the Assembly did the same with a 63 to zero vote. 

In the aftermath, another trade association, the Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA), decided to disband, merging its efforts with the VGW-backed SGLA.

The SGLA has since appointed a new Managing Director in Sean Ostrow to renew its fight against perceived regulatory overreach – the organisation’s statement summarized the bill overall as: “flawed, rushed legislation.”

Rory Calland

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