California Fails to Push Sports Betting Again

The potential for California sports betting in 2024 suffered a major setback on Tuesday when proponents of two initiatives announced they were abandoning their efforts for the time being.

Kasey Thompson and Reeve Collins, the business partners spearheading the push for retail and online sports betting in California, have chosen to halt their efforts to collect the required 874,000 signatures to place the issue on the 2024 election ballot.

Uphill climb

The initiatives encountered significant challenges in the state due to strong opposition from the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA). California’s tribes have a monopoly on gambling in the state and showed no support for the recent legal sports betting proposals.

Under the proposals, the tribes would have gained control of California’s top sportsbooks. They would have been required to contribute 25% of the adjusted gross gaming revenue from sports betting to a tribal revenue sharing trust, with an additional 1% of the total handle allocated to the state to cover the costs of legalization.

Spokesperson Kasey Thompson explained that the initiative, initially intended to benefit the tribes, has instead created division. Recognizing the lack of unity, Thompson has decided to withdraw the proposed plans entirely, honoring his commitment to not move forward with the project.

Only three weeks have passed since the California Attorney General approved the proponents’ plans to proceed with collecting signatures.

Tribal opposition

The California Nations Indian Gaming Association made it clear that they did not support the latest legal sports betting platform plans for the state. Without tribal support, any expansion of gambling in California was doomed to fail.

The California tribes were not consulted and were not given any warning about the proponents’ latest efforts to introduce retail and online betting sites in the state.

James Siva, Chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, expressed satisfaction that the backers of two initiatives have followed through on their promise to retract their efforts to legalize sports wagering and online betting in California, despite facing strong tribal opposition. Siva emphasized that these initiatives were seen as a deceptive tactic to legitimize illegal offshore online gambling companies with a history of misconduct by using the tribes’ reputation. He warned others attempting to enter the California gaming market through dubious means that exploiting tribes for personal gain will lead to failure.

What now?

Supporters of legal sports betting and top sports betting apps will likely have to wait until 2026 for another opportunity to push for legalization in California. This is when the issue can be brought before voters in the state.

Until then, a consensus must be reached among the state’s tribes, sports betting operators, and legislators. The 2022 initiatives were unsuccessful, and there will be no opportunity for voters to weigh in on the matter in 2024.

Both sides have invested millions in waging campaigns against each other in recent years, with no fruitful resolution. As a result, all relevant parties involved in the efforts to legalize sports betting in California are now returning to the drawing board.