The latest pitch to legalize sports betting in the Golden State got off to an awkward start, and now that effort looks dead.
A PR firm tied to the 2024 ballot initiatives proposing to legalize sports betting in California did not respond to emailed questions from Covers before this story was published. However, Kasey Thompson, a spokesperson for the effort, told PlayUSA on Monday that the measures were being pulled “in full.”
The news marks the end of another chapter in the story of sports betting in California, but it is not the end. The state’s huge population and economy will continue to attract attention from sportsbook operators — but, barring any last-ditch efforts, it appears another attempt to legalize event wagering will have to wait until 2026 at the earliest.
'A cynical attempt'
The announcement of the so-called "Tribal Gaming Protection Act" and "Sports Wagering Regulation and Tribal Gaming Protection Act” in October surprised the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA), an influential group of casino operators and associates.
While the proposed measures would have handed California’s Native American tribes control over legal sports betting in the state, the lack of prior consultation, the proximity to the defeat of two other event wagering initiatives in 2022, and discomfort with the plan prompted CNIGA’s ongoing opposition.
On Tuesday, the group voiced pleasure over the end of the 2024 effort to bring retail and online sports betting to California.
“We are pleased that in the face of widespread tribal opposition, the backers of two initiatives have kept their word and withdrawn what we could only regard as a cynical attempt to legalize sports wagering and online betting in California,” CNIGA James Siva said in a statement. “These initiatives attempted to use tribes’ good names to cleanse illegal off-shore, online gambling corporations with an appalling track record of malfeasance.”
I admire Chairman Siva's restraint. https://t.co/YeJrtZynJi
— Victor Rocha (@VictorRocha1) January 23, 2024
Siva also cautioned anyone thinking of throwing their hat in the ring next about their treatment of California’s gaming tribes, who have now seen off multiple attempts to bring mobile wagering to the state via the ballot box. CNIGA — made up of 52 federally recognized tribal governments and associates — opposed the two proposed initiatives for 2024, and then reaffirmed its opposition in December even after amendments.
“Let this failure also be a warning to others that seek to dubiously enter the California gaming market,” Siva said in his statement on Tuesday. “Using tribes for your own gain will get you nowhere.”
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