California lawmakers tried to negotiate a deal on sports betting in 2020, but it didn’t work out. So this November, voters will have the chance to weigh on two different initiatives that would legalize sports betting.
Prop 26, paid for by Indian tribes, would legalize sports betting only at tribal casinos and the state’s four private horse race tracks. It would also allow tribal casinos to begin offering roulette and dice games, including craps. And it would create a new pathway to enforce some gaming laws, via lawsuits. According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the proposition could generate as much as tens of millions annually for the state.
Prop 27, paid for by national gaming companies, would legalize mobile and online sports betting outside of Native American tribal lands. It would also create a new division at the state Department of Justice to regulate sports betting. The proposition could generate somewhere in the mid-hundreds of millions annually for the state, but likely not more than $500 million per year, according to estimates by the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
If both propositions pass, both could go into effect, but odds are that a court would end up weighing in.