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.