Northern California Indian Tribe Speaks Out Against Anti-Sweeps Bill

In a letter to a California Senate committee obtained by Casino Reports, Big Lagoon Rancheria Tribal Chair Virgil Moorehead counseled Monday against continuing to advance AB 831, which would ban sweepstakes operators. The letter marks the second time in a week that a tribe has spoken out in opposition to the bill, the fate of which could be determined as early as Friday.

Last week, another rural tribe gave live testimony in opposition to the bill during a hearing, which much of Indian Country heavily supports. Sweepstakes operators oppose the legislation, and the Social and Promotional Gaming Association (SPGA) shared with Casino Reports that it echoes Big Lagoon Rancheria’s position.

“The SPGA agrees with Big Lagoon Rancheria Chairperson Moorehead that AB 831 is rushed and flawed legislation,” the organization wrote in an email to Casino Reports. “It’s irresponsible for California lawmakers to jam through this broken bill over a growing chorus of complaints from tribes, consumers, and California companies.”

Anti-sweepstakes sentiment has gained momentum across the country this year as legal commercial operators and tribes call for platforms to be shuttered. Legislatures in Nevada, Montana, Connecticut, and most recently New Jersey have already enacted such bills this calendar year.

Moorehead suggests that the Senate Appropriations Committee “pause consideration” of AB 831, and have further consultation with tribes before proceeding. The bill has been heavily amended since it passed the General Assembly in May.

AB 831 unanimously passed through the Appropriations Committee Aug. 18 and was put into the “suspense file.” Bills in that file are then subject to a “vote-only Suspense Hearing … prior to the deadlines for fiscal committees to hear and report bills to the Senate floor,” according to the committee’s FAQs section. It previously unanimously passed out of the public safety and governmental organization committees.

Tribe: Sovereignty under threat

Moorehead wrote that because the bill “threatens tribal sovereignty and self-determination, it does not have the unanimous support of California’s Indian Tribes.” He writes that due to broad changes to the original bill text, it now calls for “broad criminalization” of sweepstakes models that is an “attempt to extend State jurisdiction into Indian Country,” which violates the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and tribal compacts with the state. “Such overreach undermines the Federal and California policies of promoting tribal sovereignty and self-determination.”

Later in the letter, Moorehead argues that the bill could create economic harm to some tribes by “locking them out of emerging digital business sectors.” Specifically, he argues, tribes that are not favorably geographically located “to operate large gaming casinos” will suffer. In addition, he urges the committee to further investigate the fiscal impact of the bill.

In its current form, AB 831 reads:

The bill would make an unfair practice using or offering games of these types that use a system of payment that allows a person to play or participate in a simulated gambling program for direct or indirect consideration, as specified, and for which the person playing the simulated gambling program may become eligible for a prize or award, cash or cash equivalents, or a chance to win a prize or award, or cash or cash equivalents, in a business establishment, on the internet, or using an online application. The bill would specify that these provisions do not make a game that does not award cash prizes or cash equivalents unlawful.

AB 831 goes beyond outlawing sweepstakes games, and would also make it “unlawful for any entity, financial institution, payment processor, geolocation provider, gaming content supplier, platform provider, or media affiliate to knowingly support directly or indirectly the operation, conduct, or promotion of an online sweepstakes game within this state,” Moorehead wrote.

Moorehead directly points to the phrase “directly or indirectly,” and it is this section he believes encroaches on self-determination and sovereignty.

Second tribe spoke out last week

It’s unclear why the Big Lagoon Rancheria is weighing in on the issue. The tribe in Humboldt County does not have gaming. It at one time was partnered with Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians in the hopes of building a casino in Barstow, some 700 miles to the south, according to 500 Nations. The tribe has not announced a partnership with a sweepstakes operator.

The tribe is the second to break ranks with the rest of California Indian Country in the last week. Last Tuesday, VGW announced a deal with the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation of the Cortina Rancheria Tribe.

“This bill lacks unanimous support among California tribes, has advanced without meaningful consultation with many of us, and threatens our inherent right to create legitimate revenue streams to support our people,” Kletsel Economic Development Association CEO Eric Wright told the committee.

“For tribes like ours — far from high‐traffic tourism corridors — geography has always limited traditional economic development,” Wright continued. “Large, well‐established gaming tribes already benefit from these geographic advantages and decades of success. It is self‐serving for them to advocate for policies that restrict emerging digital commerce opportunities for others, effectively holding smaller and less‐advantaged tribes hostage to their location.”

The Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation is located in rural, inland Colusa County and has about 125 enrolled members.