California voters last year dealt a crushing bust to a pair of competing ballot initiatives to legalize sports wagering, but the Golden State is too big of a prize for gaming interests to just fold and walk away. Now, a mystery player has anted up for another round at the ballot box.
Proponents have filed with the state Attorney General’s Office to launch a pair of proposed measures for the November 2024 ballot that would allow on-site and online sports betting in California through the state’s recognized Indian tribes. But California’s gaming tribes aren’t on board, and it’s unclear who’s bankrolling the effort.
“That seems to be the million dollar question: Who are these people?” said Robert Linnehan, regulatory writer and editor at XLMedia, which specializes in online gambling and sports betting. “Why did they take it upon themselves to submit two ballot measures on behalf of the tribes who say they want nothing to do with this?”
Turns out the why is a bit easier to answer, industry experts say.
“The why is just a constant — (it’s) the potential that the California market has for sports wagering,” said analyst Geoff Zochodne at the sports betting information hub Covers. “It’s the biggest of the crown jewels for that type of betting. So while it seems crazy to try again to unlock the market after such a resounding defeat, the upside is just so significant that maybe people can’t help themselves.”
And if anyone has the wherewithal to bankroll an expensive initiative effort in California, it’s the gaming industry, which pumped a record of more than $360 million into last year’s competing propositions 26 and 27. Voters in November 2022 rejected Prop 26 to allow sports betting at California’s American Indian gaming casinos and licensed racetracks 2 to 1. They panned Prop 27 to allow online sports betting four to one.
Documents filed late last week with the Attorney General’s Office for the proposed “Tribal Gaming…
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