Tribes Back Bill to Shut Down Social Casinos in California

California tribes are uniting around a sweeping new bill that targets online sweepstakes operators, and tribal leaders say momentum is finally on their side. AB 831, introduced last week, aims to shut down dual-currency sweepstakes platforms and social casinos, a category that has long operated in a gray zone outside state regulation. Tribal gaming groups believe the legislation has a real shot at passing before the end of the current session.

Good to know

• AB 831 targets dual-currency online sweepstakes and social casinos.
• Tribal leaders call the bill their top legislative priority in California.
• The Social Gaming Leadership Alliance strongly opposes the measure.

Tribal leaders say the time for compromise is over. “This legislation is take no prisoners,” said Jason Giles, Executive Director of the Indian Gaming Association. Speaking on Victor Rocha’s The New Normal webcast, Chairman James Siva of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association echoed that urgency. “I think we can get it done this session,” he said. i

Siva and other tribal voices argue that these unregulated platforms, which simulate real gambling, are draining revenue from tribal casinos—without creating jobs, paying taxes, or operating under any oversight. Rocha put it bluntly: “They’ve taken billions and billions from California.”

Lawmakers and Tribes Take Aim at Loopholes While Trade Groups Push Back

AB 831 would formally outlaw any business operating sweepstakes-style games that mimic gambling or use game mechanics that ultimately award prizes of cash or cash-equivalents. The bill also seeks to clarify the legal status of these platforms in California, which has no regulated iGaming market and has seen lawsuits from consumers go nowhere due to the murky rules.

“We have to go after the whole model,” Siva said. “If we only shut down one company at a time, they just come back under a different name.” He warned that the tribes could lose their grip on the industry they helped build if action is not taken soon.

Michael Hoenig, representing the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, said the ideal outcome is clear: “I hope that the result of this bill being passed is they just pull up stakes and leave California.”

Supporters point to other states—like New York—where strong legal pressure led some major sweepstakes platforms to exit voluntarily, even before bans were officially passed.

Still, opposition is growing. The Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA), led by former Congressman Jeff Duncan, warned that AB 831 could end up pushing players toward unregulated black-market operators. Duncan also raised concerns about potential impacts on widely accepted promotional campaigns like those used by McDonald’s or Reader’s Digest.

The Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) went further, calling the bill a “backroom ban” pushed through without debate. “This isn’t how sound policy gets made,” said an SPGA spokesperson. “A last-minute effort to outlaw legal digital games, without public debate, expert input, or economic analysis, sends a chilling message to entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors across the state.”

The fight is not limited to California. The SPGA also raised concerns about Senate Bill S5935A in New York, urging Governor Kathy Hochul to veto the measure. The bill would give state regulators broad power to penalize developers and investors tied to games that offer prize money or equivalents, sparking fears across the gaming startup world.

As AB 831 advances, California now stands on the edge of a showdown that could reshape the future of online gaming across the state—and possibly far beyond.

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