One of the most popular sweepstakes casinos in the United States has adjusted its California exit timeline, following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to sign Assembly Bill 831.
High 5 Casino originally planned to shut off its sweepstakes gaming platform in California on Sept. 15. However, the operator is now allowing access to its sweeps games for California players until Oct. 20. At that point, all access will be blocked.
And before then, starting on Oct. 13, High 5 Casino stopped accepting new player registrations and any currency package purchases from current players in California.
The timing is likely no coincidence, as Newsom signed AB831 on Oct. 11. Passed by the California Legislature on Sept. 12, AB831 outlaws sweeps casinos in the state and also criminalizes any entities that “knowingly and willfully support directly or indirectly the operation, conduct, or promotion of an online sweepstakes game within this state.”
Details of the new shutdown timeline
Here’s the exact timeline of High 5 Casino’s departure from California:
- Starting Oct. 13, new players could no longer create accounts. Also starting this day, existing players could no longer enact digital currency purchases.
- From Oct. 13-19, existing players can still play games using Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins and make any Sweeps Coin redemptions.
- Starting Oct. 20, no player will be able to access High 5 Casino if located within California’s state lines.
In a prior update to its terms of use, on Sept. 2, High 5 Casino originally stated that no new accounts could be created or digital currency purchases enacted starting Sept. 3, and that all California access would be closed off beginning on Sept. 15.
It isn’t immediately clear if either of those deadlines were followed, as High 5 Casino has now implemented a new shutdown timeline — and one can reasonably assume the operator wouldn’t create a new timeline if access was already blocked off beginning Sept. 15.
Either way, under these new deadlines, the last day for existing players to access games and their Sweeps Coins in California is Oct. 19.
One of many early operator reactions in California
High 5 Casino is the fourth known sweepstakes casino to exit California surrounding the passage of AB831.
First it was Carnival Citi, then Ruby Sweeps, then Dara Casino — all within a two-week stretch from mid-September through the start of October. These three platforms, plus High 5 Casino, are clearly taking an overly cautious approach to leaving California.
With Newsom signing AB831 on Oct. 11, sweepstakes casinos will officially become illegal in California on Jan. 1, 2026. So, technically, they’re still permitted until then.
In the coming weeks, other operators will likely pull the plug early, choosing to exit before the deadline like the sites already mentioned in this story have.
But others may ride it out until the very last day, keeping their California platforms live through Dec. 31, 2024. That endgame strategy mirrors what several brands did in New Jersey, staying open for business until the state’s own sweepstakes ban officially kicked in.
Beyond shutdown timelines, sweeps casinos are also responding in various ways to the anticipated loss of revenue when California goes offline in 2026. And that loss will be significant, as analysts at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming estimated about 17.3% of U.S. sweeps revenue would come from California in 2025. Also, when it was clear AB831 would pass, the EKG team adjusted its overall 2025 revenue projections from $4.6 billion to $4 billion, and then shrunk things even further with a $3.6 billion projection for 2026.
Some operators are relaunching in states where they had previously blocked access, likely in an effort to boost revenue as much as it can. Baba Casino, for instance, re-opened in six states. Spree, meanwhile, came back online in Alabama and Georgia.
A1 Development LLC switched its minimum age requirement from 21 back down to 18 for NoLimitCoins, Fortune Wheelz, and Tao Fortune last week after five months using the 21 age limit. This, again, is likely an effort to offset California revenue losses as much as possible.
Other sites won’t survive the loss of California. Vivaro.us, for instance, shut down on Oct. 1, citing “increasing regulatory uncertainty surrounding sweepstakes casinos in the United States” as its reason to “permanently close operations.”
Lawsuit in California is ongoing
It should also be noted that High 5 Casino is currently facing a lawsuit in California.
The operator is being sued by California resident Thomas Portugal, who claims High 5 tricked him into paying to play on an illegal online casino.
High 5 filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, but the San Francisco County Superior Court dismissed that motion on Sept. 3. So any California decisions from High 5 are more than likely being colored by this ongoing lawsuit in addition to AB831.
