FanDuel’s Strategic Push for Legal Sports Betting in California
Despite being legal in 38 states and Washington D.C, legalized sports betting still alludes to the nearly 40 million residents of California. FanDuel sportsbook app already boasts 12 million users across the country, and more could be on the way if the Golden State were to allow the practice.
The most populous state in the union has been a site of bitter debate between FanDuel and the state’s Native American tribes, which ultimately led to the failure of two sports betting propositions during the 2022 elections. Local tribes have been in staunch opposition to FanDuel’s proposals, citing increased competition and a lack of security for their multiple casinos and other in-person enterprises throughout the state.
“When I reflect on 2022, I think if I’m being a little charitable it was what I would describe as a well-intentioned but uninformed and misguided attempt. It was definitely a spectacular failure from our perspective, but that’s OK. It wasn’t the time and it wasn’t the right way, and we understand that,” said FanDuel president Christian Genetsk on their failed 2022 legalization effort. “It’s going to take us a long time to build anything remotely resembling trust, and we accept that and we appreciate it. If we can get to a place where we can start to move the ball forward on a construct that Indian country recognizes as a productive one, that’s when we’ll actually be some place.”
And, FanDuel has done exactly that in 2024. Rather than trying to push through major changes without the support of the state’s tribes, they’ve embraced a collaborative approach that could net both sides billions of dollars in the long run in the world of sports.
Back on February 21st, key members from both parties met at the 2024 Western Indian Gaming Conference to discuss finding a common grind and assuage the tribe’s fears of losing control of the lucrative California gambling market. This is an event that FanDuel and other top online sportsbook companies had declined to attend the previous year. This is after FanDuel hired new executives with tribal expertise and launched multiple tribal outreach programs in 2023 in an effort of reconciliation.
For both sides, the stakes are absolutely massive. For California tribes, gambling is already a massive $8 billion dollar industry that is far away their largest means of making money. And for FanDuel and other top sportsbooks, Eilers & Krejcik predicted that online sports betting would generate a whopping $2.8 billion in annual revenue, representing a massive untapped market.
The only question is, when will they get another opportunity? Even if both sides are able to meet in the middle, they’ll still need the public support necessary to pass a proposition, something that they didn’t have in 2022. No matter what though, they’ll have to wait at least another two years for their next chance.
“Will it happen by 2026? Well, it’s the first time it can happen. I can go on record that it’s not happening before that,” said Genetsk. “But whether it’s 2026, 2028, or 2030, we’ll know when we know.”
