The past week witnessed a lot of movement with respect to the initiatives regarding the legalization of sports betting in the state of California. The coming week has some good chances of additional movement along these lines.

Will the issue be finally settled?

It is unlikely that the issue regarding sports betting will be settled anytime soon. It is possible that two to three potential initiatives will be put on the general election ballot on November 22. However, all three initiatives will allow for sports betting in completely diverse ways.

Earlier in the year, the government has verified that a petition drive that had the support of the tribal gaming community had received a sufficient number of signatures from voters who have been registered to vote in the general elections next year. The measure, if successful would see legalized sports betting only casinos operated by the tribes as well as the four thoroughbred race tracks. The measure would also allow casinos operated by tribes to offer dice as well as roulette games.

On Monday, October 18, 2021, the state officials posted a summary of the proposed measures that are backed by the cardrooms in cities where facilities licensed by the state are located. The posting of the summary in essence means that supporters of the measures can start the process of gathering the required signatures. 997,139 signatures are required by April 18, 2021, from registered voters in order to get the measures on the ballot next year.

Cardroom proposal

The proposal by the cardrooms will allow retail sports betting as well as online sports betting at their venues. Racetracks, tribal casinos as well as professional sports franchises would also be free to allow retail sports betting as well as online sports betting at their venues. According to this proposal, the sports betting revenues could be taxed at 15%.

Another proposal that allows mobile sports betting state-wide is also before the authorities. The state authorities are yet to decide on the proposal before starting off the process to publish the same for signatures. Bally’s Interactive, FanDuel Penn National/Barstool Sportsbook, Fanatics BetMGM, DraftKings, and WynnBET have supported this proposal.