High 5 Casino is the latest online sweepstakes casino company to pull out of California, a move likely related to recent losses in the courtroom.
As of that date, new accounts can no longer be registered in the state, and existing players are not allowed to make new purchases. Current customers can play and redeem sweeps coins until Sept. 15, when the site will be taken offline in California.
High 5’s move follows news from earlier this week that Playtech pulled its games from all sweepstakes casinos in the state, including VGW’s Chumba Casino.
High 5’s motions denied
Sweepstakes casinos are dealing with a series of recent legal blows in California, as AB 831 – a bill to ban the sites in the state – winds its way through the legislature.
On Sept. 3, the same date on which High 5 effectively exited the state, San Francisco Judge Anne-Christine Massullo denied High 5’s motion for arbitration, allowing a lawsuit filed against the operator to move forward.
In his lawsuit, Thomas Portugal claims that High 5 Entertainment misled him into spending money on an illegal online casino.
Judge Massullo’s decision followed Judge Christine Van Aken denying in August High 5’s motion to dismiss this case.
Also last month, Sweepsteaks Ltd. – owner of Stake.us, the Kick streaming service and several games vendors – was sued by LA City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, who accuses the company of conducting illegal online gambling, false advertising, and violating California’s Unfair Competition Law.
Legislative pressure, too
In addition to setbacks in the courtroom, sweepstakes operators are facing a potential ban in the state of California.
Advancing out of the Senate Appropriations Committee last week, AB 831 is headed to the Senate floor, where a simple majority sends the bill back to the Assembly. While it’s been gutted and amended since, the legislation was approved by a unanimous 77-0 vote in the lower house.
Should it reach his desk, Gov. Gavin Newsom would then have the opportunity to sign the bill into law.
