California Sweepstakes Casinos

Sweepstakes casinos are no longer legal in California. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 831, which bans online sweepstakes casinos that use the dual-currency model, on October 11, 2025.

AB 831 passed through all of the necessary steps of the legal process to go to Newsom’s desk in September 2025. With Newsom’s signature, AB 831 officially became law and went into effect on January 1, 2026.

📰 Latest news updates in California

• May 21, 2026: A San Francisco Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the new cardroom regulations while a legal challenge proceeds. The injunction was granted in connection with litigation brought by the California Gaming Association. The court found that the Bureau of Gambling Control likely exceeded its authority and that there was “clear and convincing evidence” that enforcement could result in irreparable harm to cardrooms and the communities that rely on their tax revenue. As a result, cardrooms may continue operating under the existing regulatory framework.
• April 1, 2026: New California DOJ regulations took effect, prohibiting blackjack-style games at cardrooms outside of tribal lands. Under the new rules, games could no longer use a target point of 21, include a “bust” feature, award automatic wins for natural blackjacks, or include the terms “21” or “blackjack” in the game title.
• March 19, 2026: KHK Games launches GiddyUp in 17 states, including California. GiddyUp17 functions as a real-money platform featuring parimutuel casino-style games tied to real horse race results.
• March 10, 2026: California players don’t have access to legal online casinos or sports betting sites as of March 2026.

February 2026

• February 1, 2026: ClubWPT Gold revises “California Game Days,” allowing California players’ access to promotional games to include nine 24-hour periods per month.

January 2026

• • January 21, 2025: McLuck emails its California players promoting Card Crush, its RPG-style card battle game, as an “alternative to sweepstakes in California.”

• • January 3, 2026: Sweepsy learns that Modo Stars, the new loyalty program launched by Modo.us., allows players to indirectly earn Sweeps Coins through Gold Coins play, including California players.

• • January 1, 2026: Fliff introduces a new peer-to-peer daily fantasy sports platform, called Superstars, in California and 10 other U.S. states.
• • January 1, 2026: ClubWPT Gold introduces “California Game Days,” which limits California players’ access to promotional games to nine days per month.

• • January 1, 2026: AB 831 went into effect, officially banning sweepstakes casinos in California.

December 2025

• December 29, 2025: Card Crush, an RPG card game from Vision NL Limited that includes casino-style games, debuted in California.

• December 23, 2025: Modo.us tells players that a new rewards system, called Modo Stars, will go live on January 1, the same day Sweeps Coins games officially become illegal in California.
• December 19, 2025: WOW Vegas informs California players that it will allow Sweeps Coins redemptions through 11:59 pm on Dec. 31. AB 831 officially goes into effect on January 1, 2026.
• December 18, 2025: VGW tells Sweepsy that it will restrict Sweeps Coins redemptions in California beginning Dec. 30.
• December 6, 2025: Legendz Casino announces intentions to end Sweeps Coins games in California on Dec. 25.

November 2025

• November 24, 2025: McLuck informsSweepsy that it willend access to Sweeps Coin games in California on December 29.
• November 19, 2025: Pulsz announces that it will exit California completely by December 15, becoming the biggest sweeps casino to leave the state so far.
• November 12, 2025: Stake.us informs California players that it will restrict access to all games (including Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins games) on December 30.
• November 10, 2025: Hacksaw Gaming announces that it will pull all of its games from California before January 1, 2026.
• November 10, 2025: Betty Sweeps, SweepNext, and Stackr Casino all exit the California market.
• November 5, 2025: Two more sweeps casinos, Bitsler.io and Starlight Casino, leave the California market
• November 5, 2025: Modo Casino informs California players that it will discontinue Sweeps Coins purchases on Dec. 1, but players can still play SC games through Dec. 31.

October 2025

• • October 30, 2025: Modo Casino tells Sweepsy that it will pull its Sweeps Coins games out of California on Dec. 31, 2025, but its Gold Coins games will remain active.

• • October 29, 2025: Four more sweepstakes casinos leave California, including TheBoss Casino, Grand Vault Casino, CosmoSlots, and LuckySlots.

• • October 28, 2025: Legendz Casino begins the process of leaving the California market, as yet another sweeps casino pulls out of the state.

• • October 24, 2025: SweepsUSA exits California, becoming the fifth sweeps casino to leave the state this year.

• • October 21, 2025: WOW Vegas intends to remain operational in California through the end of 2025, right up to the Jan. 1, 2026 deadline for sweeps casinos being explicitly prohibited in the Golden State.

• • October 16, 2025: Casino.click, Hello Millions, LuckyStake, McLuck, PlayFame, Pulsz, Rebet Casino, SpinBlitz, Spinfinite, Thrillzz Casino have all pulled out of California with the ban taking effect in the new year.

• • October 15, 2025: High 5 Casino extends its availability in California, with sweepstakes games available through October 20.

• • October 11, 2025: Gov. Gavin Newsom signs AB 831, and sweeps casinos are officially banned from operating in California beginning Jan. 1, 2026.

• • October 1, 2025: Dara Casino pulls sweepstakes games from California, becoming the fourth sweeps casino to leave the state as AB 831 awaits a final signature from Gov. Gavin Newsom.

September 2025

• September 29, 2025: Ruby Sweeps announces its exit from the California market, becoming the third sweepstakes casino to leave the state since the passage of AB 831.
• September 22, 2025: Carnival Citi pulled out of the California market with the passage of AB 831 looming.
• September 17, 2025: Vivaro.us announces that it will exit the California market as of Oct. 1.
• September 12, 2025: Assembly Bill 831 passed the California Assembly by a 63-0 vote, ending the state’s 2025 legislative session. Gov. Gavin Newsom now has until Oct. 12 to either approve or veto the bill.
• September 12, 2025: Stake.us sees 11 different game suppliers pull their games out of California.
• September 11, 2025: Ruby Sweeps restricted all sweeps games for Arizona players.
• September 11, 2025: The Governmental Organization Committee passes AB 831 in California, sending the bill to the state Assembly. If the Assembly advances the bill, AB 831 will go to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom for final approval.
• September 9: AB 831 passes through the California Senate by a unanimous 36-0 vote. The bill, which would ban sweepstakes casinos, now goes to the Assembly. If the Assembly approves the bill, it then goes to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom for a final signature.
• September 5: High 5 Casino exits from California; three tribes have plans to protest next week at the State Capitol to oppose AB 831. The Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria joins as the fourth tribe to oppose the sweepstakes ban in California, partnering with Yellow Social Interactive.
• September 3: Chumba Casino restricts Playtech games for California players.
• September 2: Pragmatic Play announces that it will exit the California market, citing “regulatory developments and evolving legislation.” The exit comes days after the sweepstakes casino operator was named in a lawsuit filed by the state of California.

August 2025

• August 29: Three California cities with popular cardrooms (Gardena, Inglewood, and Colma) formally oppose AB 831.
• August 29: AB 831 advances through the Senate Appropriations Committee by a unanimous 7-0 vote and will now go to the state Senate for a full vote.
• August 28: The state of California sues multiple sweepstakes operators and game vendors, including Stake, Hacksaw Gaming, and Pragmatic Play.
• August 28: The Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians becomes the third California tribe to oppose AB 831 and also forms a partnership with major sweepstakes casino operator B-Two Operations Limited.
• August 25: Big Lagoon Rancheria submits a letter calling for a pause on AB 831 and further consultation with all tribes.
• August 21: Eilers & Krejcik Gaming releases a report estimating that regulation of sweepstakes casinos could produce as much as $300 million in annual tax revenue and $1.2 billion in total economic benefit for the state.
• August 18: AB 831 was moved to the suspense file, which means it won’t go to an immediate vote. The Senate Appropriations Committee could still decide to move the bill forward at some point, or put the bill on hold and effectively kill the bill.
• August 15: In a letter shared with Sweepsy, the KEDA “respectfully” opposes AB 831.
• August 14: Jackpota ceases all marketing activities in California amid the looming ramifications of AB831.
• August 11: Modo.us adds a liability waiver for California players in an apparent attempt to shield itself against future legal action from players stemming from the potential passage of AB831.

July 2025

• • July 25: B-Two Operations casinos, Hello Millions, PlayFame, and Spin Blitz pause marketing spend in California.

• • July 21: MegaBonanza pauses marketing in California. As AB 831 continues to progress, California sweepstakes casino MegaBonanza halted affiliate marketing activities.

• • July 15: AB 831 advanced through the Senate Committee on Public Safety by a unanimous 6-0 vote. Several amendments to the bill were accepted before the vote, including a provision that protects sweeps casino players as well as “potential entities who unknowingly support online sweepstakes.” AB 831 now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Aug. 18.

 

June 2025

• June 20: California Assembly Bill 831, originally introduced on February 19, 2025, as “An act to amend Section 12012.25 of the Government Code, relating to gaming,” was amended with language to specifically prohibit sweepstakes gaming in the state. The bill is said to be backed by the CNIGA and Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation.

How California moved to ban social casinos

California’s land-based casino economy is controlled by the state’s tribal gaming factions. Full-scale casino games are only legal on tribal lands, with more than 60 different tribes involved in ownership throughout the state.

The majority of California’s gaming tribes, as well as social casino operators, took an aggressive stance toward banning sweepstakes casinos in 2025. 

Assembly Bill 831 was introduced to the state Legislature in February, and backed by a coalition of gaming tribes from the outset. After a few revisions, the final version of the bill proposed an outright ban on sweeps casinos that used the familiar dual-currency model of Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins.

AB 831 went through the necessary steps to go before the state Senate on September 6. The Senate passed the bill by a unanimous 36-0 vote.

The state Assembly then advanced the bill by a unanimous 63-0 vote on September 12, sending it to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom for a final signature.

Newsom signed AB 831 on October 11, 2025, and the bill became law on January 1, 2026.

California gambling laws 

Sweepstakes casinos are banned from operating in California due to the passage of Assembly Bill 831. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill October, and sweeps casinos were forced to exit the state by January 1, 2026.

Online casinos and online sports betting aren’t legal in California.

There are no substantive efforts in progress to fully legalize online casino gambling in the state. the most recent attempt at legalization occurred in 2022, and the issue is ineligible to appear on the ballot until the 2026 midterm elections, with stakeholders saying it could be at least another couple of years before California is close to legalizing sports betting.

The state constitution limits gambling to tribal nations, with limited exceptions. Barring changes or a substantial amendment, the debut of California online casinos is unlikely. Land-bases tribal casinos offer the only avenue for real-money gambling in California at this time. 

More sweepstake casino states

📍Local casinos in California

There are no real-money online casinos in California. The only other alternative is to visit one of the local casinos across the state. Here is a complete list of where you can play casino games in person in California, along with contact information.  

📳 Responsible gambling in California

California’s sweepstakes casinos offer an alternative to traditional online gambling. Responsible gaming practices and tenets remain essential and should be followed at all times. If you or someone you know is facing challenges with online gambling, several support options are available:

• California Gambling Control Commission
• California Council on Problem Gambling
• National Council on Problem Gambling – California
• Problem Gambling Helpline
  • Call: 1-800-GAMBLER
  • Text: SUPPORT to 53342

Final thoughts

California residents who are interested in traditional real-money casino gaming are limited to legal brick-and-mortar locations across the state. There has been no movement toward the legalization of online casinos. 

Sweepstakes casinos are officially prohibited in California as of Jan. 1, 2026. No pending legislation to reverse the AB 831 ban has been introduced as of June 2026.