A recent poll of more than 4,000 registered California voters indicated support to legalize sports betting in the Golden State, but it was hardly a mandate.
The poll, conducted in early February by the University of California, Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies, showed 45% of respondents were in favor of a state constitutional amendment legalizing sports betting, with 33% opposed and 22% undecided.
Those backing legal sports wagering tended to have a lot of interest in sports, with 63% of avid fans favoring the proposed amendment, as opposed to 33% who had no interest in sports but still supported the initiative.
Battle for California Underway
The poll might be concerning for those hoping to profit from legalized sports betting in California. However, it likely won’t deter them from trying to get the measure before voters.
California is an island when it comes to sports betting. Bordering states Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon have all passed legislation legalizing sports wagering. They are included among the more than 30 states and Washington D.C. that allow some form of betting on sports.
That could soon change. One initiative is already on the November ballot in California, and three more could join them come election time.
The “California Legalize Sports Betting on American Indian Lands Initiative” gathered enough signatures to get on California’s November 8th ballot last May. It is sponsored by the more than 80 Native American casinos in the state and would legalize sports betting at their facilities, as well as licensed horse racing tracks, such as Santa Anita and Del Mar.
A second tribal-led measure has been put forward as well, which would allow wagering at tribal casinos but would also offer an online component. Its backers have until July to get the required 997,139 signatures to get on the ballot.
Seven online sports betting companies, including DraftKings and FanDuel, are behind a third initiative that would authorize mobile wagering by the tribes and any bookmakers with which they might partner. “The California Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support Act” proposes 85% of revenue generated from sports betting goes to cities to combat homelessness and health issues. It has until May to gather the requisite number of signatures.
The fourth measure is supported by California’s card clubs and considered a longshot to get on the November ballot.
Big Money Fueling Campaigns
Three California tribal governments immediately criticized the measure backed by the online sports betting operators. They formed a committee and announced an initial budget of $100 million to fight the DraftKings and FanDuel version of the sports betting measure.
“In 2000, Californians voted to give sovereign Indian nations the exclusive right to operate gaming in California,” said Roger Salazar, a spokesperson for the committee, in a press release. “The online sports betting measure sponsored by out of state corporations violates that promise of sovereignty, which has worked exceptionally well now for over two decades to the benefit for the tribes and California,”
But DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on February 18 that his bill would benefit California in two areas that have become a crisis.
“In California, we continue to work with a number of leading online sports betting operators in support of a campaign to bring regulated, safe, and responsible online sports betting to the state,” Robins said. “Legal online sports betting is projected to bring hundreds of millions in tax revenue annually to the state to address two of the state’s most pressing issues: homelessness and mental health.”
If any of the measures on the November ballot pass, California could implement sports betting as soon as 2023.
