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The California bill that would ban online dual currency sweepstakes casinos continues to move through the State Legislature as crucial deadlines approach.
After a monthlong summer recess, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Aug. 18 held a hearing on Assembly Bill 831. The committee voted unanimously to move the legislation to the “suspense file.”
That sets up a vote-only suspense hearing on Aug. 29, which is also the final day for fiscal committees to report bills to the floor for final debate and voting.
If passed by both legislative chambers and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, AB 831 would make it illegal to operate, conduct, or offer most sweepstakes casinos in California. The bill specifically targets sweeps that allow players to purchase coins and potentially win prizes, including cash.
Suspense hearing critical for survival of AB 831
The Aug. 29 vote on AB 831 is crucial to its survival and eventual passage. Bills are placed in the suspense file by the Appropriations Committee in either chamber if the bill’s cost is determined to be at least $50,000 to the General Fund or $150,000 or more to a special fund.
Unlike previous committee hearings for AB 831, no testimony will be heard. All of the bills in suspense will be presented in alphabetical/numerical order, with a straightforward roll-call vote taken on each.
If the majority of the seven-member Appropriations Committee votes to pass AB 831, it will move off suspense and be reported to the Senate floor for a vote. If the majority of the committee votes no, AB 831 will be held in suspense. Due to the Aug. 29 deadline to report the bill to the Senate floor, if AB 831 is voted down in the suspense hearing, there’s no chance for it to be passed this year.
Bill supporters and opponents testified at previous committee hearings
AB 831 in its current form, authored by Assemblymember Avelino Valencia, had its first Senate committee hearing on July 8, where it was passed by the Senate Committee on Governmental Organization by a 10-0 vote. On July 15, the Senate Public Safety Committee advanced the measure also on a 10-0 vote, after which it was referred to the Appropriations Committee.
Both hearings featured testimony from those in support of and opposed to AB 831. Opposition included representatives for various social and promotional gaming advocacy groups, some of whom said the bill had been too rushed and called for the state to regulate sweepstakes sites instead of banning them.
Support for the bill at the hearings came from some Native American tribal gaming representatives, who defended tribes’ exclusive rights to offer gambling in California.
At the Aug. 18 Appropriations Committee hearing, committee members heard from Northern California’s Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation of the Cortina Rancheria, a tribe that recently partnered with VGW, which owns and operates Chumba Casino and LuckyLand Slots sweepstakes casinos. A representative for the tribe said it opposed AB 831 because such sweepstakes casino partnerships can benefit tribes like theirs that don’t have access to other tribal gaming opportunities.
The rep said the bill “lacks unanimous support among California tribes.”
Legislature has until Sept. 12 to pass AB 831
If AB 831 is reported to the Senate floor, senators will have until Sept. 5 to amend the bill and until Sept. 12 to pass it. If passed by the Senate, the California Assembly would still have to pass the bill before it is sent to the governor’s desk.
AB 831 originated in the Assembly but with entirely different text related to extending the timeline for lawmakers to review California’s tribal gaming compacts. In that form, AB 831 was passed on the Assembly floor in May via a 77-0 vote. The bill went through a “gut and amend” process whereby the previous language was removed and replaced entirely with the anti-sweepstakes casino text.
The previous Assembly passage means that if AB 831 is passed by the Senate, it doesn’t have to go through the full committee process in the Assembly. If the Assembly concurs with the changes made to the original bill, it can be moved to the Assembly floor for a full vote. If there are issues with the changes in the Assembly, a conference committee featuring members from both chambers would be tasked with negotiating a compromise.
If AB 831 is passed by both the Senate and the Assembly by the Sept. 12 deadline, Newsom would have until Oct. 12 to sign or veto the bill. If it fails to pass either one of the chambers or Newsom vetoes it, lawmakers could reintroduce AB 831 next year.
If AB 831 were to be left in suspension or merely stall on either floor without a vote, lawmakers could pick up where they left off in 2026, as 2025 is the first year of the current two-year session.
