VGW sites Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, and Global Poker have sent emails to their California players, informing them of legislation aimed at booting online sweepstakes casinos out of the state and providing a link to help them contact legislators and ask them to vote against the bill.
“California legislators are considering a bill that could ban online social games with sweepstakes promotions! No warning, no player input,” the email from Chumba Casino reads, in part. “If passed, this bill – AB 831 – would take away your freedom to play the games you love.
“We believe your voice matters. Millions of Californians enjoy Chumba Casino games safely and responsibly every day, and lawmakers need to hear that. Let’s set the record straight. These are your games, and it’s time to speak up.”
The email then provides a link with this call to action written out:
“Take 60 seconds to tell your representatives: Don’t take away our games – SIGN HERE”
‘This is your moment to be heard’
The link takes users to a page built by the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance on quorum.us, a public affairs software platform designed to help organizations — such as corporations, nonprofits, and advocacy groups like the SGLA — engage with lawmakers, track legislation, and manage their government relations and advocacy efforts.
On that page, players can input their information, which then prompts them with different options to contact their local representatives.
“If you don’t speak up, you won’t be able to enjoy Chumba Casino’s games the way you do now. Say goodbye to all the sweepstake promotions you love,” the email reads. “Don’t stand by. Stand up. This is your moment to be heard.”
After players input their information, including their address, the quorum.us page automatically uses that location to connect the player to a specific local lawmaker.
It then provides three options for contacting that lawmaker:
- Write to them.
- Call them.
- Tag them in a post on X.
With the call option, for instance, quorum.us provides the lawmaker’s phone number and a button to initiate a call. There is also a section called “Script” with talking points the players can focus on if they get in contact with their lawmaker.
The script reads as follows:
– Online social games are safe, fun and free to play.
– Millions of Californians across the state like me enjoy these games in our spare time.
– California legislators should not give into pressure by gambling interests to ban these games to squash perceived competition.
– Please, don’t ban a popular form of entertainment. Stop AB831.
As for the X option, quorum.us automatically drafts a post for the player, tagging the lawmaker at the start and then filling out the rest with: “Online social games are safe, fun and free to play. Protect Californians’ right to choose our own entertainment. Stop AB831.”
Players can initiate the contact directly from the webpage.
Nearly 20,000 actions on eve of AB831 committee hearing
Quorum.us then keeps track of all the individual actions taken on the platform. As of the evening of July 7, the page reported that 19,698 actions had been taken — 302 away from reaching its next goal. It didn’t specify, however, what would happen after that goal was reached.
On the morning of July 8, AB831 will receive a hearing in front of the Senate Governmental Organization Committee, which is expected to hold the attention of all stakeholders on both sides of the sweeps debate. VGW has already been active in lobbying efforts, telling lawmakers as part of AB831’s legislative analysis that it “would be happy to” pay sales tax in California and that it would be “open” to other tax frameworks.
The SGLA quorum.us page also includes a summary of what the advocacy group believes is at stake in California:
“Millions of Californians play online social games, but California legislators are considering banning them because the gambling industry wants to eliminate perceived competition. On behalf of our California players who love online social games, we need to set the record straight. Our games are fun, safe and always free to play. Take Action! Write your state representatives to ensure that California legislators don’t take away your freedom to play the games you love!”
Other sweeps casinos using similar strategies
VGW isn’t the only online sweepstakes operator trying to rally its players in California.
Golden Hearts Games, for instance, has also sent an email to its California players, providing them a template for an email or letter they can send to their local representatives.
“If Assembly Bill 831 comes up for a vote, I expect you to vote against it,” that template reads, in part. “I, and many other voters, will be paying close attention to your stance on this issue when election season comes around.”
Presumably, other members of the SGLA are also directing their California players to the quorum.us page, although Sweepsy hasn’t laid eyes on emails from any of those sites.
