What's Up With Sports Betting in California

A little less than a year ago, two sports betting initiatives (Prop 26 and Prop 27) went down to sound defeats in California. It was a clear message from California voters that there isn't much of an appetite for retail/mobile sports betting in the state. This is somewhat attributable to the aggressive efforts of California Indian Tribes to prevent such activities to protect the revenue they get from retail casinos and resorts.

Just the same, another election cycle is on the horizon a little more than one year away. As people have come to expect, there are rumblings about the possibility of new sports betting initiatives that could pop up next year.

Pala Tribe Pushing for New Initiative

In the next week or two, the deadline for consideration and filing of 2024 election initiatives will pass. On cue, Pala Tribe leadership has been trying to draw support from other Tribes for the Tribe's new proposed sports betting initiative. Experts claim that the new initiative would be similar to 2022's Prop 26 Initiative, which got crushed by voters with less than 30% support.

Prior to a very recent meeting with members of the California Tribal Business Alliance (CTBA), Pala Tribe Leadership had mentioned the possibility they would issue a press release on October 16, 2023. The press release would have spoken to the Tribe's intention to introduce a new sports betting initiative. However, that press release was put on hold after a lot of negative reactions from leaders of other Tribes.

There appears to be some growing frustration within the CTBA related to the way the Palas tend to bypass other Tribes and set out to pursue only the interest of the Pala Tribe. Regarding the potential press release, CTBA member and Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro said in an interview with PlayUSA:

"This is a tribe that has a proclivity to go out on its own, and maybe that’s what’s happening again here. Maybe this is just a case of one tribe wanting it so much when no one else really seems to want it."

While members of the CTBA were able to cool the Pala Tribe's sports betting aspirations, they did indicate they were willing to have a California sports betting discussion.

The Sports Betting Conversation Has Started

While the Pala Tribe decided to cool its jets, they did succeed in opening the lines of sports betting communication between Tribes at the recent G2E meeting.

Based on said communications, it's clear that mobile sports betting is very much off the table. However, there is a growing consensus among some Tribal leaders that maybe the time to consider retail sports betting on Indian land is nearing. Specifically, putting forth something like 2022's Prop 26 might make sense if they removed the component about suing California cardrooms.

Yes, there are rumblings again. However, the proposition filing deadline is very near, making it very unlikely that California will legalize sports betting prior to the 2026 election cycle. The truth is nothing will happen until the Tribes decide it's going to happen.