California Sweeps Casino Ban Passes Assembly; Heads to Newsom's Desk

Second House of California Assembly Passes Sweeps Ban

We have been following the efforts to ban sweepstakes casinos in California for some time now, and it looks like proponents are on their way to a victory in the battle.

With just a handful of days left in the legislative session, we reported that the California Senate passed a bill outlawing sweepstakes casinos in the state. At the time, we were unaware if the other house in the California legislature, the State Assembly, would take up the measure before the clock ran out.

Now we have our answer to the question.

On Friday, September 12th, the final afternoon of the legislative session, the California Assembly passed AB 831, a bill banning sweepstakes casinos in the state, by a unanimous vote of 63-0.

The bill, should it become law, will make it a misdemeanor to operate or knowingly support sweepstakes casino and sports betting sites operating under the dual currency system that has become popular in the industry.

The bill was written by Assemblymember Avelino Valencia. Originally, Valencia's bill was on another topic completely that dealt with a tribal gaming issue; however, this summer the California Senate amended Valencia's existing bill to use it as a vehicle to ban the sweepstakes casino and sports betting sites.

For the most part, large tribal groups were among the biggest supporters of Valencia's legislation, although there were four tribes in the state that spoke out against the effort to ban sweeps casinos.

What's Next for California's Proposed Ban?

Passing a law in California consists of three distinct steps. The bill must pass both houses of the state legislature in separate votes, plus any approved bill goes to the governor's desk, who may sign the bill into law or veto it.

It is expected that Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, will sign the bill into law, as it had no opposition in the legislature and he has made no indication that he intends to veto the legislation.

Even if Newsom chose to issue a veto, the bill would likely become law anyways, as the unanimous votes of the legislature for the bill indicate that he would easily be overridden.