Section 319.5.
Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 319.5.
in effectNeither this chapter nor Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 330) applies to the possession or operation of a reverse vending machine. As used in this section a reverse vending machine is a machine in which empty beverage containers are deposited for recycling and which provides a payment of money, merchandise, vouchers, or other incentives at a frequency less than upon each deposit. The pay out of a reverse vending machine is made on a deposit selected at random within the designated number of required deposits.
The deposit of an empty beverage container in a reverse vending machine does
not constitute consideration within the definition of lottery in Section 319.
References
referencesCal. Penal Code - PEN § 330.
referencesCal. Penal Code - PEN § 319.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026