Existing law prohibits a person under 21 years of age from playing, being allowed to play, placing wagers at, or collecting winnings from, a controlled game, as specified. Existing law prohibits lottery tickets from being sold to persons under 18 years of age. Existing law prohibits specified unfair acts or practices undertaken or committed by any person in the operation of any contest or sweepstakes, including, among other things, using or offering for use any method, including an internet website or an online application, intended to be used by a person interacting with an electronic video monitor, mobile telephone, computer terminal, or similar internet access device, to simulate gambling.

This bill, the Protecting Kids from Online Gambling Act, would prohibit operators of internet websites, online services, online applications, or mobile applications from making available, or advertising, online gambling activities or prediction market wagering to minors, as specified. The bill would prohibit the information collected for purposes of compliance from being used for any purpose unrelated to determining whether the user is a minor, and would require the information to be immediately deleted after age determination is complete, except as specified. The bill would authorize the Attorney General or a city attorney to bring a civil action for a violation of these provisions to obtain specified civil penalties, attorney’s fees and costs, and injunctive or declaratory relief. The bill would authorize a minor who suffers actual harm due to a violation of these provisions, or a parent or guardian acting on behalf of that minor, to bring a civil action to obtain specified statutory damages and other relief the court deems proper. The bill would require the Attorney General to adopt regulations to implement these provisions, including regulations governing age assurance standards, on or before July 1, 2027.

Existing law, the Unfair Competition Law, makes various practices unlawful and makes a person who engages, has engaged, or proposes to engage in unfair competition liable for a civil penalty, as specified. Existing law authorizes actions for relief prosecuted under the Unfair Competition Law to be brought by certain public attorneys and requires the penalty collected from those actions to be paid to the treasurer of the county or city in which the judgment is entered, as specified.

This bill would specify that a violation of the Protecting Kids from Online Gambling Act constitutes unfair competition for purposes of the Unfair Competition Law.

This bill would specify that its provisions are severable.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Gambling behavior among adolescents is widespread and often begins before adulthood. Research indicates that 36 percent of boys 11 to 17 years of age, inclusive, report engaging in gambling or gambling-related activities in the past year, with older teen boys reporting even higher rates.

(b) Early exposure to gambling during adolescence occurs at a critical stage of neurological and behavioral development. Youth are more susceptible to reward-driven decisionmaking, impulsivity, and risk-taking behaviors, increasing vulnerability to future problem gambling and associated financial and mental health harms.

(c) Exposure to gambling advertising and gambling content is pervasive across digital platforms frequently used by minors, including social media platforms, video-sharing platforms, messaging applications, billboards, and television, including outside traditional sports broadcasts.

(d) Youth gambling behavior is strongly associated with social and digital influences. Adolescents with peers who gamble are significantly more likely to gamble themselves, and many report encountering gambling content and advertising passively through digital algorithms or peer sharing rather than actively seeking it out.

(e) Minors lack the legal capacity and developmental maturity to fully assess financial risk and long-term consequences associated with gambling. The routine exposure of minors to gambling opportunities and advertising therefore presents a significant public health and consumer protection concern.

(f) Existing industry practices and voluntary safeguards are insufficient to shield minors from gambling exposure and access. Gaps in age assurance, digital advertising practices, and cross-platform promotion allow minors to encounter and engage with gambling activities despite legal age restrictions.

(g) The State of California has a substantial interest in protecting minors from exposure to gambling activities and gambling advertising. Establishing clear guardrails, including age-based restrictions and platform accountability measures, is necessary to reduce early exposure and mitigate the risk of future gambling-related harm.

Chapter 7. Protecting Kids from Online Gambling Act

17950.

This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Protecting Kids from Online Gambling Act.

17951.

This chapter shall be liberally construed to effectuate its purpose of protecting minors.

17952.

For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:

(a) “Advertise” means to display to a user a paid advertisement, sponsored content, influencer marketing, affiliate marketing, algorithmic promotion, targeted amplification, or cross-platform promotional placements.

(b) “Covered service or application” means a public or semipublic internet website, online service, online application, or mobile application accessible in this state, including, but not limited to, a social media platform, as defined in Section 22675.

(c) “Minor” means an individual under 18 years of age who is located in this state.

(d) (1) “Online gambling activity” means a game, contest, promotion, or similar activity provided through a covered service or application that simulates a banking or percentage game or a game of chance, including, but not limited to, any of the following:

(A) A table game, including, but not limited to, baccarat, bingo, blackjack, craps, keno, poker, and roulette.

(B) A slot or pachinko machine.

(C) A lottery, as defined in Section 319 of the Penal Code.

(D) Sports or fantasy sports wagering.

(2) “Online gambling activity” does not include any activity that constitutes predictive market wagering.

(e) “Operator” means a person or entity that operates or provides a covered service or application.

(f) “Predictive market wagering” means betting, speculating, or wagering by means of a prediction market whereby participants are permitted to place wagers, trades, or financial positions on the outcome of future events, including, but not limited to, political, economic, weather, or other eventualities, with payouts tied to event outcomes.

(g) “User” means a person who uses a covered service or application in this state.

17953.

(a) Prior to January 1, 2028, an operator shall not make online gambling activities available to a user if the operator has actual knowledge that the user is a minor.

(b) On and after January 1, 2028, an operator shall not make online gambling activities available to a user unless the operator reasonably determines that the user is not a minor.

17953.5.

(a) Prior to January 1, 2028, an operator shall not make predictive market wagering available to a user if the operator has actual knowledge that the user is a minor.

(b) On and after January 1, 2028, an operator shall not make predictive market wagering available to a user unless the operator reasonably determines that the user is not a minor.

17954.

(a) Prior to January 1, 2028, an operator shall not advertise online gambling activities to a user if the operator has actual knowledge that the user is a minor.

(b) On and after January 1, 2028, an operator shall not advertise online gambling activities to a user unless the operator reasonably determines that the user is not a minor.

17954.5.

(a) Prior to January 1, 2028, an operator shall not advertise predictive market wagering to a user if the operator has actual knowledge that the user is a minor.

(b) On and after January 1, 2028, an operator shall not advertise predictive market wagering to a user unless the operator reasonably determines that the user is not a minor.

17955.

The collection of information pursuant to this chapter for purposes of determining a user’s age shall comply with all of the following:

(a) The information shall be limited to what is reasonably necessary to determine the user’s age.

(b) The information shall not be used for any purpose unrelated to compliance with this chapter, including, but not limited to, marketing, profiling, or any other commercial purpose.

(c) The information shall be deleted immediately after age determination is complete, except as required by law, and any information required to be maintained shall be stored securely with reasonable technical, physical, and administrative safeguards.

17956.

(a) A violation of this chapter constitutes “unfair competition” as defined in Section 17200 and is punishable as prescribed in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 17200) of Part 2.

(b) The Attorney General or a city attorney may bring a civil action in the name of the people of the State of California for a violation of this chapter to obtain one or more of the following remedies:

(1) A civil penalty of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for each violation.

(2) Injunctive or declaratory relief.

(3) Reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

(c) A minor who suffers actual harm due to a violation of this chapter, or a parent or guardian acting on behalf of that minor, may bring a civil action to obtain one or more of the following remedies:

(1) The greater of the following statutory damages:

(A) Two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per violation up to a maximum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) per minor.

(B) Three times the amount of the minor’s actual damages, including economic and noneconomic damages.

(2) Reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

(3) Any other relief the court deems proper, including, but not limited to, the following:

(A) Punitive damages.

(B) Injunctive or declaratory relief.

17957.

The duties, remedies, and obligations imposed by this chapter are cumulative to the duties, remedies, and obligations imposed under other law and shall not be construed to relieve a person or entity from any duties, remedies, or obligations imposed under any other law.

17958.

The Attorney General shall adopt regulations to implement this chapter, including regulations governing age assurance standards, on or before July 1, 2027. The regulations may include limited exceptions if consistent with the purpose of protecting minors.

17959.

This chapter does not authorize or make lawful any form of online gambling, predictive market wagering, or any other activity that is otherwise prohibited by law.

17960.

The provisions of this chapter are severable. If any provision of this chapter or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.