A new sports betting bill in California aims to bring mobile and retail sports betting together in the state. Introduced by Sen. Bill Dodd and Assemblyman Adam Gray, the constitutional amendment bills ACA 16 and SCA 6 aim to put forth the question in front of the state’s voters this November.

Lawmakers finally focus on the bills

The bills were originally introduced in May but the lawmakers only found time to fill up on the proposals on Thursday. The new language used in the bills will authorize all tribal casinos in the state and racetracks to allow sports betting in their premises. Cardrooms will not be allowed to carry out sports betting but they will be allowed to offer designated player games that have faced tribal challenges in recent times.

The state is facing a $50 billion budget deficit because of the coronavirus pandemic. Lawmakers want to bring additional revenue to the state to limit the impact of a $14 billion proposed cut by the Governor. Dodd commented on the potential of the bill and said,

“The amount of money that can be raised in benefit of the state with online wagering is estimated to be up to $700 million a year. We’re looking to get those revenues for a COVID-type budget where we need to be looking out for every opportunity to increase our revenues at a time when we have to make so many cuts.”

What does the bill propose?

Apart from allowing sports betting on horse racing tracks and tribal casinos, the bill decides the licensing details for the industry. The initial licensing fee would be $5 million, followed by an annual fee of $1 million. The licensees will remit at 1% of their revenue to fund problem gambling programs. They will have to pay a 10% tax on gross revenue for onsite wagering and a 15% tax on mobile and online wagering.

To ensure that sovereignty issues don’t crop up, the fees and taxes will be paid by the platform entity. The state will have four licensed horse racing tracks that can have access to sports betting via one satellite wagering facility.

Dodd said that California is already seeing sports betting action. However, it is being done illegally in legal gray areas because of which the state doesn’t earn any taxes. By legalizing this practice, the state will be able to gain precious tax revenue and also provide adequate safeguards to problem gamblers.