After years and years and years of opposition from Tribal gaming interests, there has finally been a proposal tat could work for California sports betting. And this time it has the support of Native American gaming, because this time it’s their proposal. A spokesman for the coalition of tribes backing the initiative, Jacob Mejia, admits that there is no chance for the initiative to find its way to the ballot in 2020 or 2021. The legislature can next place a measure on the June 2022 primary ballot. The tribal initiative was on pace to qualify for this year’s ballot before…

Well, it took just over two months, but Washington D.C. sports betting had just north of $1 million wagered. That’s only $237,000 in revenue for the District. Officially launched on the 30th of May (and calculated through August 3rd) those numbers are well short of states like Colorado, which launched sports betting in May, which saw over $25 million wagered in May with another $38 million in June. Of course, Colorado has 5 million more residents than the D.C. does. How much the effects of the pandemic may have played a role should not be overlooked. When sports betting was…

New American Gaming Association (AGA) research shows sports bettors are moving their business away from illegal bookies and toward legal options. Average spending with illegal bookies fell 25 percent in legal sports betting states last year, while legal online and mobile betting spend increased 12 percent. Illegal offshore operators also saw a three percent increase in states with legal sports betting. The most influential factors for bettors who had shifted from the illegal to legal market are confidence that bets will be paid out (25%), awareness of legal options (20%), and a desire to use a regulated book (19%). “We’ve known…

California stands as the “crown jewel” of American gambling. Online poker has failed there for years, and the battle for California sports betting is now heating up between state legislators and Tribal Gaming. We also look at new casino closures in Nevada, update the Justice Department online gambling case, and have sad news to report from Las Vegas.   A Superior Court judge made official his tentative ruling to allow a coalition of federally-recognized tribes 90 more days to collect signatures for a legal California sports betting initiative that would go on the November 2022 ballot. The tribes sought an…

Despite the fact that betting on sports in California was recently shot down, there is a renewed hope for Tribal sports betting in the state. After making sure the latest legislation to regulate the activity failed, Native American interests have begun the push for their own referendum. The Tribes sued the state for time to gather needed signatures for their own sports betting bill, and a California Superior Court judge decided to allow a coalition of federally-recognized tribes 90 more days to collect those signatures. If successful, the referendum that would go on the November ballot. “With these unprecedented times,…

You can stop holding your breath now, as California sports betting will once again fail. There has been a small glimmer of hope for the legislation as it was scheduled for a vote with the state’s Senate Appropriations Committee this week, but it was removed at the last moment. Even if it had been included in the vote, it would have needed to advance through both legislative branches by this week’s deadline to earn its place on the November ballot. Its sudden removal now means that advocates could be looking at years instead of months before sports books can legally…