City attorney settlement will close Netstop sweepstakes business and bar operator and software provider from state operations

Supervisor John Avalos announced a settlement reached by the city attorney’s office requiring the closure of a sweepstakes‑style Internet gaming facility in the Excelsior District and additional restrictions on the proprietor and the vendor providing sweepstakes software.

Avalos said the facility known as Netstop will be required to close within 60 days (on or about April 1) under terms of the settlement, and the proprietor will be barred from operating a similar business in California for five years. The settlement also restricts a software company named Figure 8 from providing sweepstakes‑style gaming software in California for five years, according to Avalos’ statement.

Avalos thanked the city attorney’s office (naming Jennifer Choi), Ingleside Police Station under Captain Falvey and local community groups that had brought concerns and documentation to officials. He said the settlement followed community reports of associated petty crime and neighborhood impacts around the Excelsior and Mission Street corridor.

Avalos said his office will introduce a resolution supporting state legislation to close the legal loophole that has allowed Internet sweepstakes gaming to operate in the state. The board did not vote on the proposed state resolution at this meeting; Avalos said it would be before the board next week for adoption without committee reference.

The announcement was framed as a neighborhood victory; Avalos credited community activists, the city attorney’s enforcement work and police undercover actions in developing the case that led to the settlement.