Over 20k Messages Sent to California Lawmakers on Sweepstakes Ban

Virtual Gaming Worlds has been busy lately.

The company, which oversees sweepstakes casinos like Chumba Casino, Global Poker, and Luckyland Slots, recently announced it would be "happy" to pay sales tax in California, and it also began adding sales tax to purchases in other states.

The company also recently updated its terms and conditions, telling players that sweepstakes play in Louisiana would be concluding. 

Last week, it sent emails out to players with a link to a form in which they could send a letter to contact legislators to ask them to vote against Assembly Bill 831, which would ban online sweepstakes casinos.

At the time of this writing, the bill passed in the Senate Governmental Organization Committee and is now headed for a vote in the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday, July 15. 

The VGW Email

“California legislators are considering a bill that could ban online social games with sweepstakes promotions! No warning, no player input,” the email from Chumba Casino reads, in part. “If passed, this bill – AB 831 – would take away your freedom to play the games you love.

“We believe your voice matters. Millions of Californians enjoy Chumba Casino games safely and responsibly every day, and lawmakers need to hear that. Let’s set the record straight. These are your games, and it’s time to speak up.”

The email ended with the following call to action:

“Take 60 seconds to tell your representatives: Don’t take away our games – SIGN HERE”

From there, the email took players to a site that was created by the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance on Quroum.us. 

Qurom.us is a platform used to help companies and other organizations engage with lawmakers. 

“If you don’t speak up, you won’t be able to enjoy Chumba Casino’s games the way you do now. Say goodbye to all the sweepstake promotions you love,” the email continued. “Don’t stand by. Stand up. This is your moment to be heard.”

The page lists three ways to contact lawmakers: write to them, post on X, or call them. 

Additionally, there's a "script" of sorts for fans of sweepstakes casinos, which includes the following "talking points."

• Online social games are safe, fun and free to play. 
• Millions of Californians across the state like me enjoy these games in our spare time.
• California legislators should not give into pressure by gambling interests to ban these games to squash perceived competition. 
• Please, don’t ban a popular form of entertainment. Stop AB831.

There's Been Over 20k Responses

The initiative had a goal of 20,000 responses. 

As of the evening of July 7, it had 19,698. That's just over 300 away from that goal. 

That was nearly a week ago. 

Of course, this didn't seem to do much ahead of the vote with the Senate Governmental Organization Committee, but we'll see if it has an impact later. 

The Qurom page also had the following message:

“Millions of Californians play online social games, but California legislators are considering banning them because the gambling industry wants to eliminate perceived competition. On behalf of our California players who love online social games, we need to set the record straight. Our games are fun, safe and always free to play. Take Action! Write your state representatives to ensure that California legislators don’t take away your freedom to play the games you love!”

Golden Hearts Games Doing Something Similar

In addition to VGW, Golden Hearts Games emailed their players a template for an email to send to local representatives. 

“If Assembly Bill 831 comes up for a vote, I expect you to vote against it,” a portion of the template read. “I, and many other voters, will be paying close attention to your stance on this issue when election season comes around.”

We'll see if these efforts amount to anything notable.