How long until California legalizes sports betting?
It seems that the legalization of sports betting is inevitable in California. But so far the developments in this regard were surprisingly slow. Why hasn’t the biggest US state legalized sports betting yet, especially when we know how big of an impact legalization had on the economies of US states that did go through with it? When can we expect California to finally legalize sports betting? The answers to these questions are complicated, but it does seem that we are closer to legalization than ever before.
Unexpected Twist Regarding California Sports Betting
California was one of the states that were not expected to pursue legal sports betting after the PASPA ruling was overturned in May of 2018. So, everyone was surprised when things suddenly started to change by the end of 2019. In that period California held its first-ever hearing on sports betting.
The next big step was made a little over a year ago, when on January 8th, 2020 the Joint Assembly and Senate Governmental Organization Committees meeting was held in the state capital. The aim was to get input from experts on the potential effects of the legalization of sports betting. This is an especially sensitive topic in California, which would become the biggest sports betting market in the US if it decided to go through the legalization route. It is important to point out that the meeting was held without the representatives of the state’s card rooms, tribal casinos, and racetracks.
But the meeting itself was not a complete success for the advocates of legalization. Chris Grove of the research firm Eilers and Krejcik Gaming tweeted out after the hearing: “I don’t see California passing a sports betting bill this year. You could *feel* the obstruction in the room.”
Economic Impact of Legal Betting
Grove also stated that the Californian sports betting market could be worth $2.5 billion per year if it included mobile sports betting.
With more than 40 million residents and a huge number of professional sports teams, many Californians are asking themselves why it takes so long for the state to legalize sports betting. Especially if we know that the states that have already legalized sports betting are seeing exponential revenue for their economy.
In 2018 New Jersey was the first state to legalize sports betting and one of the first sites to get up and running was William Hill. Today it is one of many sportsbooks available in the state. The legalization was proven to be of great help to the state’s economy.
This was especially evident during the coronavirus crisis when, due to lockdowns, many people turned to online casinos. Even with some casino resorts adapting to pandemic restrictions by cutting their capacity down to 50/25%, many players still chose online versions. Online gaming has grown every month of 2020, including an 87% increase in November over 2019’s $49 million. Consequently, it has generated more than $870 million in revenue, which was a 101% increase compared to 2019.
Bumps on the Road to Sports Betting Legalization
To legalize gambling in California a two-thirds supermajority is needed in the state legislature. It’s quite obvious that this is impossible to achieve except if everyone is on the same page. One of the bumps on the road to legalization is that the state tribes want to be able to exclusively offer legal sports betting, card rooms, and racetracks. But a proposal from the coalition of the state’s tribes also seems to be the quickest way to legal sports betting in California. Of course, under this proposal, the tribes would be given exclusivity for legal sports betting in California.
At the moment, gambling in the state is regulated and limited to card rooms, tribal casinos, the state lottery, horse racing, and charitable gaming. California also has 69 Native American casinos, that host around 70,000 slot machines and more than two thousand table games.
Californian tribal gaming leaders want to place a referendum on the ballot which would allow Native American casinos to open retail sportsbooks if approved by voters in 2022.
Sportsbook openings would without a doubt be a major boom for bettors and operators alike. But under this proposal betting would be limited to within the actual casinos. Many of the casinos owned by the tribes are in remote, rural parts of the state. The hope of the tribal leaders is that in this way sports betting will be a new way to attract in-person visits and additional foot traffic to more lucrative gaming and entertainment options at their casinos. For now, their priorities lie with in-person, retail support for their communities, but they stated that they could be open to an online gaming option in the future.
For now, the exact date of legalization of sports betting is still uncertain. It seems that the pending ballot measure proposed by the state’s tribes is the furthest California sports betting has advanced toward any type of legal wagering so far. Whether this proposal will pass or not, it is obvious that we have passed from the phase when we were asking “if” sports betting will be legalized, and that the questions Californians are asking now are “when” and “how exactly”.
