With a population of over 40 million and millions of tourists every year, California is a sportsbook’s paradise. There are plenty of professional sports teams and bettors are always looking for opportunities to place bets in safe environments. Unfortunately, they must go to Arizona or Nevada to find legal sportsbooks.
Previous Efforts to Legalize Sports Betting
California has tried to legalize sports betting several times in the past. In the state’s history, voters have had three opportunities to ratify constitutional amendments that relate to gambling.
In 1984, they voted for creation of the state lottery. In 1998 and 2000, they voted for provisions that allow Native tribes to open casinos. During these elections, voters had only two choice-to accept or reject single ballot measures.
Based on a proposed tribal initiative, the state would legalize sports betting at horse racing tracks and brick-and-mortar Indian casinos.
This legal effort would permit online sports betting through platforms that are associated with racetracks and tribal casinos. When online sports betting is legal in California, the state will likely attract huge revenue sums.
The Future of California Sports Betting
In the recent past, there has been a lot of pressure to legalize California sports betting. The COVID pandemic hit hard and the state suffered a $54 billion budget deficit. Legalizing sports betting could help bring in more revenue.
The sports betting industry is projected to bring on $503 million upon maturity. In the first six months of operation, it is projected to earn about $282 million including the initial licensing fees.
However, the state’s attitude towards all kinds of gambling is still hostile. Cardrooms and the tribes don’t see eye to eye on various important things, making it difficult to make significant progress.
Unfortunately, cardrooms and the tribes oppose legislative efforts that would be a major win for the sports betting industry. The ACA 16 and SCA 6 would let cardrooms go on to offer house-banked card games. However, they wouldn’t be involved in California sports betting.
Before COVID shutdowns, the tribes were pushing their initiative. They were close to getting enough signatures to take the matter to the ballot. However, the deadline for submitting signatures has passed.
When Will California Online Sportsbooks Be Legalized?
Online sportsbooks in California are likely to be legalized n 2022. If the tribes’ initiative passes, sports betting may strat without the option of online wagering. However, this may be reviewed after a few years. The tribes may eventually pursue the legalization of online sports wagering in the state.
However, tribal leaders are generally concerned about online wagering and its ability to cannibalize their land-based investments. However, lack of the online betting option may shrink the state’s revenue to about $200 million annually.
It Didn’t Begin with Sports Betting
The fight to legalize California sports betting is more complex than it may seem. It goes back to two decades of jockeying between the card clubs that have been around for long and feature 86 locations through the state, and Native Tribes that run 65 locations.
Card clubs offer a portion of the games present at tribal casinos. However, their operations generally rely on rules that demand payouts to be derived from other players’ wagers rather than the house. In addition, the tribal casinos own exclusive rights to slots. They are the biggest moneymakers for the facilities.
The two competitors have been at loggerheads for a while now. The failed ballot measure in 2004 was one of the most significant ones. It was supported by horse racing groups and card clubs hoping to get some profit from the slots action. However, the tribes countered it with a ballot measure seeking to widely expand their operations.
As more tribal casinos came up in the early 2000s, card rooms in the state started declining. However, the card rooms have a built-in customer base. They have facilities in most populous cities and tribal casinos could only operate on federally recognized lands. Being away from urban areas was a major disadvantage.
The Clash and Tension
Tension has been running high in the Californian sports betting scene since 2018. During that year, the United States Supreme Court struck down a law seeking to bar states from establishing new sports betting industries. The state legislators discussed the issue but couldn’t agree on the best way to proceed.
In reality, there is no specific set of rules to appeal to everyone. Since each state has a unique goal and agenda, each one must take on a unique approach to sports betting.
There needs to be a constitutional amendment before any legal changes are made to the Californian betting industry. However, the ideal situation would be for all interested parties to reach a compromise. The legislature would then broker a unified plan providing clear regulations and sufficient tax revenue to aid government operations.
The COVID pandemic played a role in delaying these efforts. In 2020, legislators gave up on their efforts. Three of the most successful gaming tribes in California moved right ahead with their ballot measure.
The proposal, qualified for the ballot in November 202, would permit sports betting at Californian horse tracks and tribal casinos. It would earmark 70 percent of taxes on operations to be used through various state programs.
However, the qualified ballot doesn’t address the growing demand for online sports wagering. In August, state officials submitted a ballot measure to allow both online and in-person sports betting.
Card rooms would be added to locations that allow bets. In addition, they would incur hefty taxes and licensing fees. Most of the resulting revenue would go to education, housing, and heath needs.
Hope for 2022
2022 may be a confusing year for California voters. With four competing ballot measures to expect, it may be impossible to predict the future. However, there is a lot of hope for sports wagering to be legalized early in the year.The fight for control is between local poker parlors, horse racing tracks, online corporations, and Indian tribes. Whichever comes on top will enjoy billions of dollars in betting events.
