Chavdar Vasilev is a journalist covering the casino and sports betting market sectors for CasinoBeats. He joined CasinoBeats in May 2025 and reports on industry-shaping stories across the US and beyond, including legislative debates, market...
Read Full BioOver two weeks since California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 831, which bans dual-currency sweepstakes casinos, operators are slow to respond, with only 11 platforms restricting access to California residents.
While the ban takes effect on January 1, 2026, the lack of exits signals a different strategy compared to other states, which have taken similar measures. For example, in New York, even before the legislature passed a ban, there was a mass exodus of operators.
Similar actions occurred in states like Connecticut, Nevada, and Montana.
However, with some reports suggesting that California accounts for nearly 20% of the revenue for the platforms, it’s likely that most, especially the larger operators, will remain in place until the end of the year.
Who Has Left?
CasinoBeats has determined that 11 operators have updated their terms and conditions to exclude California residents:
- Carnival Citi
- Cosmo Slots
- Dara Casino
- Grand Vault
- High 5 Casino
- LuckySlots
- Peak Play
- SweepsUSA
- Ruby Sweeps
- The Boss
- Vegas Gems
What stands out is that, except for High 5 Casino, the rest are smaller operators. In High 5 Casino’s case, the exit could be related to a lawsuit in the state.
Meanwhile, Carnival Citi, which was the first to exit California, is known to take a cautious approach. The platform had a long list of restricted states even before this year’s nationwide crackdown began.
Most of these smaller brands are likely taking a preventative stance rather than reacting to immediate legal risk, signaling a desire to avoid future enforcement actions.
Others Plan to Remain or Adjust Model
The big operators, such as VGW (Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, Global Poker), B-Two Operations (McLuck, Hello Millions, SpinBlitz, Mega Bonanza, PlayFame, Jackpota), A1 Development (Funrize, NoLimitCoins, FunzCity, Fortune Wheelz, Tao Fortune, Storm Rush), and ARB Interactive (Modo), will likely continue to operate until the ban takes effect.
VGW continued to offer Gold Coin play in New York and New Jersey after the dual-currency ban. That suggests it could take the same approach in California.
WOW Vegas, which faces a $13 million lawsuit in Louisiana for allegedly owing taxes, has confirmed that it will remain operational until January 1, according to some reports.
Meanwhile, Modo sent a memo to California customers stating that it will provide an update with details soon.
Furthermore, in September, the social poker site Club WPT introduced a new single-currency system. With the change, it hopes to circumvent the dual-currency ban. Instead of buying Gold Coin packages, users can now purchase educational materials and receive a single currency (redeemable for cash) as a complimentary gift.
Undoubtedly, the next two months will see more operators leaving California, but given its size, others could devise innovative ways to stay beyond the ban’s effective date.
