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State database · CA · verified 2026-10-03

Sweepstakes laws in California

Since January 1, 2026, Penal Code 337o (AB 831) makes it a misdemeanor to operate, or knowingly and willfully support, a dual-currency online sweepstakes game; Los Angeles sued Stake.us in 2025.

Disclosure: this site's publisher, Luck Incorporated LLC, operates Chance Infinite, one of the apps in these databases. Its entry is built from its own documents under the same rules as every other entry. This is reference information, not legal advice; official rules and statutes control.

Last verified October 3, 2026. Every line below cites a document; numbers in brackets point to the source list.

Status
Law in force
Sweepstakes-casino law
AB 831 (Stats. 2025, Ch. 623), effective January 1, 2026
Enforcement actions on record
1
Ranked free apps open to residents
6 of 6
Sweepstakes-casino brands and California
17 exclude it, 1 limits it, of 18 tracked

The law

AB 831 (Stats. 2025, Ch. 623)

Cited as Cal. Penal Code section 337o; Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code section 17539.1(a)(12); enacted October 11, 2025 (approved by the Governor and chaptered by the Secretary of State on October 11, 2025); effective January 1, 2026. [S1]

Adds Penal Code section 337o, which makes it unlawful for any person or entity to operate, conduct or offer an online sweepstakes game in California, and unlawful for any entity, financial institution, payment processor, geolocation provider, gaming content supplier, platform provider or media affiliate to knowingly and willfully support one. An online sweepstakes game is defined as a game, contest or promotion that is available online or on a device, uses a dual-currency system of payment with direct or indirect consideration, simulates gambling (slot machines, video poker, table games, lotteries, bingo, sports wagering) and awards cash or cash equivalents. A violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $1,000 to $25,000, up to one year in county jail, or both. The section does not reach licensed gambling enterprises, the California State Lottery, or promotions run by for-profit businesses on a limited and occasional basis incidental to substantial bona fide sales. The act also amends Business and Professions Code section 17539.1 to list dual-currency simulated gambling on a website or app among prohibited practices in contests and sweepstakes.

“It is unlawful for any person or entity to operate, conduct, or offer an online sweepstakes game in this state.”

Bills

  • AB 831 (2025-2026 session): enacted (Stats. 2025, Ch. 623), October 11, 2025. [S2]
    What the bill does

    Introduced February 19, 2025 and amended in the Senate on June 23, July 16 and September 3, 2025. Passed the Senate 36 to 0 on September 8, 2025; the Assembly concurred in the Senate amendments 79 to 0 on September 12, 2025; approved by the Governor October 11, 2025. See laws.

Enforcement

  • August 28, 2025, Los Angeles City Attorney (Public Rights Branch), suing as The People of the State of California: civil lawsuit under the Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law (Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. 25STCV25304) against Sweepsteaks LTD. d/b/a Stake.Us, with Easygo Group Holdings Pty LTD., Medium Rare N.V., Kick Streaming Pty LTD., two individual defendants, Veriff and two Gibraltar entities, Evolution AB and affiliated entities, Bigtime Gaming Pty LTD., Red Tiger entities, Netent, Nolimit City entities, Hacksaw Ab, Hacksaw Gaming LTD., Hgmt LTD. and Hgim LTD., as listed in the release. Status: pending. [S7]
    What the record says

    The City Attorney's release, posted September 4, 2025, says the office filed suit against the owners, operators and aiders and abettors of Stake.us and that the lawsuit alleges the entity is unlicensed and operating in violation of state law. The suit seeks to stop the operation, recover funds lost by Californians and impose civil penalties (S7). The release does not state the filing date; co-counsel Susman Godfrey's announcement gives it as August 28, 2025 (S12). It was filed before AB 831 took effect. A Gambling Insider report updated September 8, 2026 describes the case as still live and at an early stage (S13); we did not retrieve the court docket.

Rules for any sweepstakes in California

  • Lottery definition (Cal. Penal Code section 319): Defines a lottery as "any scheme for the disposal or distribution of property by chance, among persons who have paid or promised to pay any valuable consideration for the chance of obtaining such property", whatever it is called. [S5]
  • Contest and sweepstakes practices (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code section 17539.1(a)): Lists unfair practices in operating any contest or sweepstakes, among them misrepresenting the odds of winning any prize, misrepresenting the rules, failing to disclose the exact nature and approximate value of prizes when offered, and failing to award and distribute all prizes of the value and type represented. [S4]

Free sweepstakes apps open to California residents

Our ranked apps, by what each one's own official rules say about California. Chance Infinite is operated by this site's publisher.

AppOur rankCalifornia
Chance Infinite1, 81/100Open
Coinnect2, 71/100Open
Prizes by GAMEE3 (tied), 54/100Open
Winsome Rewards3 (tied), 54/100Open
PCH+5, 51/100Open (app listed unavailable)
PCH Lotto6, 48/100Open (app listed unavailable)

Sweepstakes casinos and California

What the 18 sweepstakes-casino brands in our database say about California in their own documents. These lists give no grade; some of these brands pay SweepstakeReport a commission through the links on their fact sheets. We do not judge whether any brand may operate in California, and documents change often.

181 casinos' terms exclude California: see which.

Regulator

California Department of Justice, Bureau of Gambling Control

Notes

Read the 7 research notes
  • Timeline check: our crackdown timeline gives AB 831 as signed October 11, 2025 and effective January 1, 2026. The bill history records approval by the Governor and chaptering on October 11, 2025, and the codified Penal Code section 337o carries the note "Effective January 1, 2026" (S2, S3). No disagreement.
  • Timeline check, players: our timeline summarizes AB 831 as "players exempt". The enacted text contains no provision addressed to players either way; its prohibitions run to persons or entities that operate, conduct or offer an online sweepstakes game and to listed entities that knowingly and willfully support one (S1). The Senate Public Safety Committee analysis of the June 23, 2025 version quotes the support clause as reaching "any person, entity, financial institution, payment processor, geolocation provider, gaming content supplier, platform provider, or media affiliate" and records an ACLU California Action concern that "prosecutors may argue that anyone who participates in an online sweepstakes is directly or indirectly supporting the gambling platform" (S6). The enacted section 337o(b) begins "any entity, financial institution" (S1). Read together, the word "person" was not in the enacted support clause; we draw no conclusion about player liability.
  • Section 1 of AB 831 states the Legislature's intent that the act apply to persons or entities who knowingly and intentionally engage in, promote or facilitate online sweepstakes games that use a dual-currency system, and not to ancillary or publicly available services, platforms or infrastructure providers that may be used unknowingly or unintentionally, provided they are not acting with the intent to further those games (S1).
  • As amended, Business and Professions Code section 17539.1(a)(12) says: "This paragraph does not make a game that does not award cash prizes or cash equivalents unlawful." Penal Code section 337o likewise defines an online sweepstakes game as one that awards cash or cash equivalents (S1, S3).
  • The Senate Public Safety Committee analysis lists the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation as the bill's source and the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance and ACLU California Action among opponents (S6).
  • Operator documents retrieved October 3, 2026: the HelloMillions Terms of Service, Version 2.3 dated July 15, 2026, state "WE NO LONGER OFFER PROMOTIONAL CONTESTS IN CALIFORNIA." (S8); the Fortune Wins Terms and Conditions, Version 4.8 dated July 31, 2026, record in their changelog that California and New York were added to the "Excluded Territory" on June 8, 2026 (S9). Brand-by-brand exclusions are in the app database.
  • The Attorney General's 2021 judgment against Pong Game Studios concerned software for in-person sweepstakes cafes, not online sweepstakes casinos, and predates 2022; we list it only as context (S10).

What we could not establish

  • We could not run the Legislature's own keyword search for other 2025 and 2026 bills: scripted queries to the leginfo bill search returned zero results for every term tried. We found no other 2025 or 2026 California bill on online sweepstakes games in the sources checked on 2026-10-03; the codified Penal Code section 337o shows only the 2025 enactment (S3). A 2026 bill could exist that we did not find.
  • We did not retrieve the Los Angeles Superior Court docket for Case No. 25STCV25304. Its filing date and status rest on co-counsel's announcement (S12) and a September 2026 trade report (S13), both secondary; a scan of the 102 items in the City Attorney's updates listing found no later update on the case (S11).
  • We found no Attorney General or Bureau of Gambling Control action naming an online sweepstakes casino in the pages checked; the Assembly committee and floor analyses of AB 831 sit behind a scripted form on leginfo and were not read.

Common questions

Does California have a law on online sweepstakes casinos?

Yes. AB 831 (Stats. 2025, Ch. 623), cited as Cal. Penal Code section 337o; Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code section 17539.1(a)(12), took effect January 1, 2026. This page quotes the text and links the statute.

Which ranked free sweepstakes apps accept California residents?

Per their own official rules, Chance Infinite, Coinnect, Prizes by GAMEE, Winsome Rewards, PCH+ and PCH Lotto accept residents of California. Chance Infinite is operated by the publisher of this site.

Do sweepstakes casinos accept players in California?

Of the 18 sweepstakes casino brands in our database, 17 exclude California and 1 limit it in their own documents, last verified October 3, 2026. Documents change often, so read the current terms first.

Sources

  1. S1 California Legislative Information, AB-831 Gambling: operation of a contest or sweepstakes, chaptered text (Chapter 623, Statutes of 2025), retrieved October 3, 2026
  2. S2 California Legislative Information, AB-831 bill history, retrieved October 3, 2026
  3. S3 California Legislative Information, California Penal Code section 337o, retrieved October 3, 2026
  4. S4 California Legislative Information, California Business and Professions Code section 17539.1, retrieved October 3, 2026
  5. S5 California Legislative Information, California Penal Code section 319, retrieved October 3, 2026
  6. S6 California State Senate, Senate Committee on Public Safety analysis of AB 831 (hearing July 15, 2025; version June 23, 2025), retrieved October 3, 2026
  7. S7 Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney, LA City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto Files Lawsuit Against Online Gambling Enterprise, Stake.us (posted September 4, 2025), retrieved October 3, 2026
  8. S8 HelloMillions (operator), HelloMillions Terms of Service, Version 2.3 (dated July 15, 2026), retrieved October 3, 2026
  9. S9 Fortune Wins (operator), Fortune Wins Terms and Conditions, Version 4.8 (Date Updated: July 31, 2026), retrieved October 3, 2026
  10. S10 California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, Attorney General Bonta Secures Multimillion-Dollar Judgment Against Pong Game Studios, Permanently Halts Illegal Gambling Operation (October 28, 2021), retrieved October 3, 2026
  11. S11 Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney, Updates listing, pages 0 to 12, retrieved October 3, 2026
  12. S12 Susman Godfrey L.L.P. (co-counsel for the plaintiff), Susman Godfrey and the Los Angeles City Attorney File Landmark Lawsuit Against Stake.US on behalf of the People of the State of California (September 15, 2025) (secondary reporting), retrieved October 3, 2026
  13. S13 Gambling Insider, Evolution Was Sued By California in 2025. Not One Earnings Report Names the Case. Why? (updated September 8, 2026) (secondary reporting), retrieved October 3, 2026

Related: All 50 states and DC · The crackdown timeline · The app database