California Court Denies High 5 Entertainment Motions in Sweepstakes Case

A California court has dealt a blow to High 5 Entertainment in its ongoing legal battle over sweepstakes gaming. The Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, has denied four separate motions filed by the company, keeping the case alive as questions mount over how sweepstakes operators run their businesses in the state.

Good to Know

• The lawsuit was filed on December 30, 2024, by plaintiff Thomas Portugal.
• Judge Christine Van Aken ruled the arbitration agreement “unconscionable” under California law.
• High 5’s attempts to strike the complaint, compel arbitration, and quash summons were denied.

The case, brought by Portugal late last year, accuses High 5 Entertainment of violating California’s gambling laws through its sweepstakes model. High 5 argued disputes should be resolved through arbitration instead of court proceedings, but the judge rejected that stance.

Why the Arbitration Push Failed

Judge Christine Van Aken explained that the arbitration agreement in High 5’s terms lacked a “clear and unmistakable delegation” of authority to arbitrators. The court went further, pointing out that the contract showed both procedural and substantive unconscionability.

On the procedural side, the agreement was presented as a take-it-or-leave-it contract without proper disclosure. Substantively, it contained provisions that disadvantaged consumers, including a restrictive one-year statute of limitations, mandatory cost-sharing, and a ban on public injunctive relief.

Van Aken also dismissed High 5’s claim that defending the case in California courts placed an unfair burden on the company, stressing that “California has significant interests in enforcing its public policies concerning gambling.”

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