With just over a day remaining before California’s sweepstakes ban comes into effect, ClubWPT Gold (CWG), which has vowed to continue operating in the state, has announced changes that will impact California-based players.
California players will still be able to access ClubWPT Gold, but beginning in the new year, the operator is introducing a new framework that it believes will allow it to continue operating sweepstakes poker legally in the state.
According to the operator, these changes are designed to comply with AB 831, legislation that bans online sweepstakes platforms using a “dual-currency system of payment.” The new law takes effect on January 1, 2026.
Starting January 1, 2026, CWG will introduce what it calls “California Game Days.” Under this policy, players located in California will only be able to win redeemable Chips in ring games and tournaments for a maximum of nine calendar days each month.
Any Chips won outside of this nine-day window will still be credited to a player’s account, but will be classified as unredeemable Chips. However, unredeemable Chips can still be converted to redeemable Chips.
This does not mean California players are restricted to playing only nine days per month. Players may continue to play on the platform outside of the designated Game Days; however, any Chips won during that period will not be redeemable until the following month.
CWG states that all other platform features will remain unchanged and available 24/7. Players will continue to have unrestricted access to tools such as Hand Analysis. The changes will apply exclusively to players located in California.
As for how unredeemable Chips become redeemable, the operator explains that they will convert in the following month once a player participates in a ring game or tournament. Unredeemable Chips will automatically be used before any redeemable Chips.
California Bans Sweepstakes Gaming
These changes follow California Governor Gavin Newsom’s signing of AB 831 on October 11. The bill moved swiftly through the legislature and passed with unanimous support. Its scope directly targets the modern sweepstakes model in which purchases award bonus tokens, often referred to as Sweeps Coins, that can later be redeemed. Under the law, affiliates, payment processors, and software providers may also face legal risk if they continue supporting sweepstakes operations after the effective date.
In response, a number of sweepstakes operators, including those offering online poker, have announced plans to exit the California market by the end of the year. ClubWPT Gold, however, has chosen a markedly different approach. Rather than withdrawing, the operator previously signaled its intention to remain in California by adopting what it described as a training-first model. This new model removed gold coins, introduced “hand analysis tokens,” rebranded sweeps coins as Chips, and later added a monthly membership option.
At the time, the operator stated that its team had been “proactively making updates to the platform and developing new features to align with the upcoming legislative change,” adding that it was “committed to continuing to operate in compliance with California law.”
Those changes have now been formally unveiled.
Compliance Workaround by ClubWPT Gold
The key question is how this revised structure allows ClubWPT Gold to continue operating, given that AB 831 explicitly bans sweepstakes gaming. Based on the operator’s approach, it appears the company may be relying on specific carve-outs within the legislation.
First, the operator has moved away from a traditional dual-currency sweepstakes model, rebranding itself primarily as a poker training platform by eliminating gold coins, introducing hand analysis tokens, and reclassifying sweeps coins as Chips.
The operator is also seemingly drawing on language found in Section 337o. (f), which states that the law does not prohibit game promotions or sweepstakes conducted by for-profit commercial entities on a “limited and occasional basis” when used as an advertising or marketing tool that is incidental to bona fide sales of consumer products or services and not intended to facilitate ongoing gambling or gaming.
ClubWPT Gold’s legal team may be arguing that limiting redeemable play to fewer than one-third of each month qualifies as “limited and occasional,” while positioning its hand analysis tools and training features as the core consumer products being promoted.
Whether this interpretation ultimately withstands legal scrutiny will be up to lawyers, regulators, and possibly the judiciary to determine. For now, however, ClubWPT Gold has outlined a path that allows it to continue operating in California, the largest market in the US.
The platform has also published a detailed FAQ outlining how the new system works and how players will be affected.
Meanwhile, several competing sweepstakes poker platforms have confirmed their exits from the California market. Clubs Poker withdrew on December 29, with redemptions ending the same day. Global Poker and Stake Poker US are both set to exit on December 30, with Global Poker allowing redemptions through January 15, 2026. Stake US has yet to announce a final date for Sweeps Coin redemptions.
