Assembly Bill 831, a measure aimed at banning online sweepstakes gambling — including sweepstakes-based poker — has officially been signed into law in California.
As reported by PokerOrg, the bill was proposed in order to affirm ‘Tribal governments’ sovereign right to conduct gaming in California’, and was supported by the California Nations Indian Gaming Association. Online gaming in the state is not currently regulated to the degree it is in other states, such as Nevada, Michigan or Pennsylvania.
The bill received unanimous support in the California Assembly’s Governmental Organization Committee in September. It passed the lower chamber by a 79-0 vote, before being signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom last weekend.
The new legislation comes into effect on January 1, 2026, and will criminalize anyone operating online sweepstakes games as well as ‘any entity, financial institution, payment processor, geolocation provider, gaming content supplier, platform provider, or media affiliate to knowingly and willfully support’ such an operation.
Penalties for breaching the law include fines of $1,000-$25,000, up to a year in county jail, or both.
What does this mean for online poker in California?
Sweepstakes-based poker operators in the state, such as Global Poker and Stake US, are now expected to begin the process of shuttering ahead of the year-end deadline. Players on the sites will likely see the facility for deposits/purchases removed ahead of a grace period for withdrawals.
Based on previous similar instances with other operators in other states, that period may not be long, so players with online balances on sweeps sites in California should be prepared to empty out their accounts. Other states to have banned online sweepstakes gaming in 2025 include Montana, Connecticut and Nevada.
ClubWPT Gold looks to remain active with new model
One major operator that has been operating in California — and will hope to continue — is ClubWPT Gold. The site, which counts high-profile players such as Doug Polk among its ambassadors, recently switched from the dual-currency model used by the majority of sweepstakes operators to a new, apparently unique system.
Following ClubWPT Gold’s acquisition of the training platform Upswing Poker — previously owned by Polk — it has positioned itself as a more educational proposition. Users can still play for and with ‘chips’, which can be withdrawn as real currency, but instead of offering them with purchases of play money they come as packages with automated hand analysis credits. Read more about ClubWPT Gold's switch here.
‘We are aware of the new California legislation scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026,’ reads a statement from ClubWPT Gold on its website. ‘In preparation, our team has been proactively making updates to the platform and developing new features to align with the upcoming legislative change. We are committed to continuing to operate in compliance with California law.’
With rivals in the state closing shop, and the level of scrutiny on sweepstakes sites never higher, players looking to play poker online in the Golden State will be following with interest.
As, of course, will we — keep an eye on PokerOrg for more on this and all poker news as it develops.
