California Assembly Bill 831, led by Antonio Valencia, seeks to ban online sweepstakes casinos. With divided tribal opinions and support from business groups, the bill now awaits a critical Assembly vote before heading to Governor Newsom’s desk.
California bill AB 831’s meandering bicameral path resumed Thursday when the Assembly’s Governmental Organization Committee voted unanimously in favour of concurring with Assemblyperson Antonio Valencia’s proposal to prohibit online sweepstakes casinos in the Golden State.
The bill now returns to the full Assembly floor, with a Friday legislative calendar deadline for passage before being delivered to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. The governor has not indicated whether he supports or opposes the bill.
Valencia’s “gut-and-amend” of a previous law passed three Senate Committees before being reverted to second reading in the upper chamber prior to adoption, with modifications made to protect non-gaming sweepstakes companies.
Testimony for and against the bill was presented during the committee meeting, demonstrating once more how divided the tribal community is on this issue. Following hearing, members of eight different tribes expressed support for the bill. Conversely, scores of Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation members, one of the four tribes to openly express their opposition, were present in bright orange T-shirts that said, “No to AB 831.”
Valencia presents his argument.
Juan Herrera, the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation’s director of state intergovernmental affairs, joined Valencia on the front dais. The assemblyman stated that the law was intended “not to ban social sweepstakes” in order to justify his late revisions.
Valencia continued by describing the dual currency models used by sweepstakes casinos, stating that operators “use dual currency models to take advantage of a legal grey area and exploit false necessary disclaimers.” He went on to say that such practices put children and people who are addicted to gambling at danger while providing neither economic benefits to the state nor consumer protections.
“Gaming revenues fund critical services and community investment for tribes like San Manuel,” Herrera said, echoing those concerns. Additionally, he noted that the measure has no bearing on California gaming issues including daily fantasy sports, cardrooms, and sports betting.
The bill received support from the California Chamber of Commerce and the Sports Betting Alliance in addition to tribal representatives.
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