New Tribal Sports Betting Markets: The Outlook in California

Session Title

Session 2-3-D: Policy and Regulation, Part 5

Presenters

Steven Andrew Light, University of North DakotaFollow
Kathryn R.L. Rand, University of North DakotaFollow

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation

Location

Park MGM, Las Vegas, NV

Start Date

24-5-2023 1:30 PM

End Date

24-5-2023 3:00 PM

Disciplines

American Politics | Gaming Law | Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | State and Local Government Law

Abstract

Abstract: Sports wagering is now legal and/or operational in over 30 states. Tribes in 22 states have added sports wagering to their existing casino operations. Yet sports wagering remains illegal anywhere and in any form in California, the biggest tribal gaming market in the U.S. When the state’s voters go to the polls in fall 2022, they will encounter not one, but two ballot initiatives authorizing sports wagering. Proposition 26 (in-person tribal sports wagering) and Proposition 27 (online and mobile commercial-tribal sports wagering) would authorize the state’s largest expansion of legalized gambling in a decade or more, falling under the tribal sports wagering legalization models we’ve identified. In creating a new $3 billion industry in California, either Proposition would fundamentally change the game for the state’s 75 compacted gaming tribes. What are Proposition 26 and 27? What happens if one, both, or neither are approved? And either way, what are the stakes for gaming tribes, commercial sports betting platforms, and the state of California? In this article, we provide an overview of the outlook for tribal sports betting in California: what’s on the ballot, what’s at stake, who wins or loses, and what comes next after the voters have their say.

Implications: Propositions 26 and 27 each represent a big bet by two distinct political coalitions with an enormous vested interest in their potential markets, one comprised primarily of select California gaming tribes, the other primarily comprised of some of the nation’s biggest commercial online or mobile sports betting companies. Regardless of the vote’s outcome, we intend to assist tribal and state officials, as well as tribal and commercial operators and other interested parties, in understanding the implications of sports wagering legalization in California, and what best serves the shared policy goals of tribes and the state, and where commercial operators fit in that equation.

Keywords

Sports betting, tribal gaming, sports wagering, California, Proposition, Indian Gaming Regulatory Act

Author Bios

Steven Andrew Light, Ph.D. is Professor of Political Science and Public Administration and Kathryn R.L. Rand, J.D. is Floyd B. Sperry Professor of Law and at the University of North Dakota, where they co-direct the Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming Law and Policy. Light and Rand have published, presented, and consulted extensively on the law, policy, regulation, and socioeconomic impacts of gaming. They have co-authored three books considered standards in the field, including INDIAN GAMING LAW, 2d ed. (2019), and more than 60 other publications. They are quoted widely in such outlets as New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Las Vegas Weekly, NPR, and Indian Country Today. In spring 2022, they were Inaugural Visiting Professors in Indian Nations Gaming & Governance at the Boyd School of Law at UNLV, where they also are Senior Distinguished Fellows in Tribal Gaming at the International Center for Gaming Regulation (ICGR).