California’s tribes once again get lawmakers to attack a gambling competitor

For the second straight year, casino-owning tribes persuaded lawmakers to pass legislation that directly attacks the tribes’ business competitors.

Earlier this month, the California Legislature approved Assembly Bill 831 , which bans companies from offering certain types of online sweepstakes that the tribes see as a threat to their exclusive rights to gambling in California.

In an example of how much political clout the tribes have — thanks in part to the millions of dollars they have donated to legislators’ reelection campaigns — the measure easily passed both legislative chambers without any of California’s 120 lawmakers voting against it.

In total, the groups for and against the bill have spent at least $1.7 million on lobbying the Legislature so far this year, according to filing