California Sports Betting Legalization is heading towards a ballot. A coalition of the tribal operators in California has successfully managed to secure a 1.4mn signature in support of a ballot for the legalization.
Jacob Mejia, Coalition Spokesperson, confirmed that the target was 997,000 and it has been surpassed. The petitions have also been successfully handed over to state officials.
However, it has to be ratified, and then betting legalization can go for ballots in 2022 or even 2021. Mejia is very hopeful that strong support indicates people are for legalization in a responsible manner.
The original plan to deliver the petition was by the fall of 2020. However, the pandemic pushed the date to December 14.
This could actually make the legislators build a proposal for inclusive sports betting. There is hardly any room for the legalization of only card clubs, tribal casinos, and state’s racetracks.
Current state and federal law suggest that tribes would be only permitted digital betting to the gamblers within the reservations.
California has all the potential to become one of the biggest sports betting markets in the country. According to the experts, California could be seeing handling $1.4bn in the very first year. However, that depends on the inclusion of the card clubs and the adoption of state-wide mobile betting.
The state is facing a budget deficit of $54bn and the legislators are looking for more revenue streams. However, the legislators need to find a balance with the tribes and card clubs.
Inspirational Link: https://www.casino.org/news/california-sports-betting-heading-to-ballot-as-tribes-get-1-4m-signatures/