It’s now official — California is not going to be permitting on-line sweepstakes poker or different sweepstakes gaming. Over the weekend, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 831, a invoice that explicitly bans any type of playing using a dual-currency format underneath sweepstakes legislation.
Though the legislation is not going to come into impact till January 1, 2026, it successfully marks a useless finish for sweepstakes poker within the state. Sweepstakes operators could have no selection however to exit the California market or face repercussions.
Nevertheless, ClubWPT Gold (CWG), one of many largest sweepstakes poker operators, has made it clear that it intends to remain in California. At the least, that’s what the operator is saying — and its current updates recommend it plans to proceed working even after the brand new legislation takes impact subsequent yr.
The operator printed a brand new FAQ on its web site, explicitly stating that it’ll proceed to serve California gamers.
“We’re conscious of the brand new California laws scheduled to take impact on January 1, 2026,” the operator wrote on its web site. “In preparation, our workforce has been proactively making updates to the platform and creating new options to align with the upcoming legislative change.”
“We’re dedicated to persevering with to function in compliance with California legislation,” it added.
Pivoted to Beat California Ban?
This transfer to stay in California was not totally sudden. The principle cause why ClubWPT Gold not too long ago altered its enterprise mannequin within the first place was pushed exactly by the necessity to keep lively in California, a market that isn’t solely essentially the most populous within the US but additionally one of many wealthiest.
Shedding entry to California poker gamers would shrink its whole addressable market by greater than 10% and will lower income for them by as a lot as 20% or extra.
ClubWPT Gold anticipated this alteration. The invoice was launched earlier this yr, and the operator acted early to keep away from shedding one in all its most profitable markets.
To take action, it pivoted to a brand new enterprise mannequin, eliminating its dual-currency construction that used to depend on Gold Cash and Sweeps Cash.
For these unfamiliar with how on-line sweepstakes works — gamers sometimes make real-money purchases of play-money cash, which can’t be redeemed for money and are used solely for play-money video games. Nevertheless, with every buy, gamers obtain Sweeps Cash, which function entries into sweepstakes video games.
These Sweeps Cash can be utilized to take part in tournaments, ring video games, or on line casino video games, and winnings will be redeemed for actual money prizes. This technique mimics real-money poker whereas staying inside the authorized framework of sweepstakes legal guidelines, even in states with out regulated on-line poker or casinos, comparable to California.
This dual-currency sweepstakes mannequin, launched almost a decade in the past by World Poker, gained large traction over the previous two years, attracting a number of new entrants to the market, together with ClubWPT Gold, which solely went formally dwell earlier this yr. However the fast development of sweepstakes gaming within the US additionally caught the eye of regulators and lawmakers.
In response to rising issues, many states have launched laws concentrating on sweepstakes-style playing. Main states comparable to Michigan, New Jersey, and New York (whose invoice now awaits the governor’s signature), together with smaller ones like Nevada and Connecticut, have taken steps to outlaw sweepstakes-based gaming. California is the most recent to affix that checklist.
Will ClubWPT Gold’s New Mannequin Face up to the Legislation?
In anticipation, ClubWPT Gold seems to have developed a brand new working construction that it believes stays compliant with the legislation. The operator has eliminated each Gold Cash and Sweeps Cash and rebranded itself as a poker coaching platform.
Below this new mannequin, gamers buy Hand Evaluation (HA) credit that grant entry to the positioning’s poker coaching service and a built-in GTO teaching device. Alongside these purchases, gamers obtain “chips” that can be utilized to enter tournaments and ring video games.
Importantly, these chips can nonetheless be obtained by way of “no buy needed” strategies, comparable to mailing a postcard, a key component of sweepstakes compliance, they usually can nonetheless be redeemed for actual cash.
These updates seem like the “proactive modifications” referenced by the operator as a part of its preparation for AB 831.
Nevertheless, a plain studying of the invoice means that even this revised mannequin may fall underneath the brand new restrictions. The laws defines prohibited tokens as these obtained “with the acquisition of a associated product, service, or exercise,” which might nonetheless embody the “coaching tokens” utilized by ClubWPT Gold.
That mentioned, the legislation does embody a carveout for sweepstakes performed by for-profit entities “as an promoting and advertising and marketing device which might be incidental to substantial bona fide gross sales of client services or products.” Such sweepstakes have to be “restricted and occasional” and “not supposed to supply a automobile for the institution of ongoing playing or gaming.”
It appears probably that CWG has acquired authorized steering indicating that its up to date mannequin — or maybe an extra iteration nonetheless in growth — can legally function underneath California’s new laws. The actual problem could also be in convincing its third-party companions, together with ambassadors like Doug Polk and fee processors, to share that very same confidence.
Other than ClubWPT Gold, three different sweepstakes poker websites presently function in California — World Poker, the pioneer of the dual-currency format; Golf equipment Poker; and Stake US. All three are anticipated to start notifying gamers quickly with timelines for his or her market exit.
Their withdrawal from California will probably unfold in phases. Initially, they may stop accepting new purchases or limit entry by way of geofencing. Subsequent, they may announce closing redemption deadlines for Sweeps Cash, adopted by the closure of California participant accounts.
However not ClubWPT Gold, it seems.
