With the state of California introducing bill 831 on January 1 — a measure to ban online sweepstakes gaming — the poker platform ClubWPT Gold has brought in a restriction for players in the state that only allows them to win redeemable Chips on nine days per calendar month.
‘Chips’ in this case are effectively a replacement for what was previously termed ‘Sweeps Coins’, after the site pivoted from the traditional dual-currency model, and can be redeemed for cash — if played on the right days (see below).
The 9-day restriction appears to be a bid to remain legally compliant with the ban on sweepstakes sites, with the bill stating it does not prohibit ‘game promotions or sweepstakes conducted by for-profit commercial entities on a limited and occasional basis as an advertising and marketing tool’.
That ‘limited and occasional basis’ clause would seem to be the cause of the 9-day restriction, which are being referred to at ClubWPT Gold as ‘California Game Days’ (CGD).
The operator’s statement announcing the change mentions that ‘California Game Days… will allow you to test the skills developed using our platform’, in a bid to position the real-money gameplay opportunities as part of a larger training and practice product.
Club WPT Gold's full statement can be found here, with an extract below.
What are California Game Days?
A Californian player’s 9 days per month are not set in stone, but rather applicable to any of the first 9 days of any calendar month that they partake in ring games or tournaments. The days do not have to be sequential, nor start on the first of the month. The restriction only applies to players physically located in the state of California while playing at ClubWPT Gold.
Players may still play on the site for more than 9 days per month, with any Chips won on those days credited to their accounts. However, ClubWPT Gold states that these Chips won on non-CGD ‘will not be as redeemable’.
Elsewhere in the same statement, the site claims that ‘Chips won outside of the California Game Days window… are not redeemable’, but can be used to play in future CGD when winnings will be redeemable.
This would seem to indicate that such chips are effectively subject to a 1-to-1 playthrough requirement, i.e. a single Chip won outside the CGD is not redeemable, but a Chip won on a CGD using that non-redeemable Chip may be cashed in.
ClubWPT Gold-en State
The change to ClubWPT Gold’s California offering comes at the close of a year in which the site repositioned itself as a poker education and training platform, acquiring the existing site Upswing Poker from its founder Doug Polk, and taking Polk on as a brand ambassador.
The issue of dual-currency sweepstakes sites was addressed by the removal of the Gold/Sweeps Coins model in favor of a new system whereby Hand Analysis credits may be purchased — allowing for a GTO review of the way a specific hand was played — with each purchase also awarding Chips for quasi-real-money play.
The site also recently launched a ‘Goldmember’ subscription package, with each $99 monthly subscription awarding $110 worth of Chips.
Throughout the various transitions and transformations that ClubWPT Gold has undergone in recent months, it has continually emphasized its commitment to operating within the legal framework of the jurisdictions where it is available.
With rivals including Global Poker exiting California due to the new bill, the apparent legal gymnastics being performed will likely result in ClubWPT Gold enjoying an even greater share of a complicated, yet populous, real-money market — even if it’s only available part-time.
