Moreover, there are also moves by major national sportsbook operators to join forces with California’s professional sports teams to support an additional sports betting ballot referendum which would allow mobile sports betting as well as in-person wagering at certain sports facilities. The measure would tax profits derived from sports betting at racetracks at 10% and legalize roulette and dice games, such as craps, at tribal casinos. If passed, the initiative would amend the state constitution and state statutes to legalize sports betting at state tribal casinos and licensed racetracks in California. Time ran out and there was no vote on the proposal.Ī coalition backed by the tribes, however, has succeeded in getting a referendum on the ballot in the November 2022 election. It envisaged the tribal casinos being allowed to run sportsbooks but in return the card rooms would be free from the constant lawsuits being launched by the tribes. PASPA was overthrown in mid-2018, but it was not until early 2020 that the first meeting to examine what a legal sports betting industry might look like was held.Ī draft bill that might have gone to a public vote in November 2021 was drawn up. There have been several attempts to legalize California sports betting, but all have foundered on the rocks of the state’s politics and a row between the casinos and other gaming providers. They have long felt that card rooms in the state are operating outside the law.Ī coalition backed by the tribes has succeeded in collecting sufficient signatures to put a referendum that would authorize sports betting on the ballot in November 2022.ĭespite the state’s massive budget deficit, which is running at more than $50 billion, and the huge potential for sports betting to fill this hole with estimated revenues of $700 million or more each year, California has been slow to move to legalize sports betting. There are more than 60 casinos in California, all owned and run by Native American tribes. This is explained by the infamous complexity of the state’s politics, but also by the ongoing dispute between the owners of the state’s casinos and the people who run card rooms here. However, progress towards the legalization of California sports betting in the wake of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) being overturned in 2018 has been incredibly slow. The population is pushing 40 million, and the state is home to no fewer than 15 big four sports teams. Sportsbooks operating here would see revenue in the billions.Ĭalifornia has everything the sports betting industry could want.

The size of the potential California sports betting market is staggering.

Sports betting online states california