Proponents of a California sports betting initiative proposal filed amendments Monday that removed what several tribes called “problematic provisions” and added language that would increase the amount of money earmarked for a Revenue Sharing Trust Fund for the tribes, require in-person registration for two years, and allow for mobile registration within 10 miles of tribal casinos.
The amendments were posted late Monday, ahead of a 5 p.m. PT deadline.
The initiative proposals from Kasey Thompson’s group would legalize statewide digital wagering using a hub-and-spoke model with the tribes in charge. The online betting apps.
In the proposal, Thompson’s group also says it will eliminate all black-market betting companies and, with the help of regulators and lawmakers, will “wash” those companies and ultimately hand them over to the tribes so they can run their own platforms.
The amendments are designed to get the tribes on board.
“All of the arguments against me have been put to rest,” proponent Thompson told Sports Handle. “There is nothing nefarious here. What happens when they find out my money is not offshore and this is the best tribal initiative ever?”
July 2025 start at earliest 61523
The amendments eliminated a 10% earmark to combat homelessness that was in the original filing, and instead increase the revenue-share to non-gaming tribes to 25%. The new filing also adds a sunset on promotional credits. Sportsbooks would be able to write off 15% of promotional credits in the first year, and by the fifth year there would be no writeoff.
The start date for California sports betting could be no earlier than July 1, 2025.
All the amendments came from Indian Country, land-based casinos, and commercial operators, Thompson said. He also pointed to the size of the market in California and how commercial operators view it as the crown jewel of FanDuel’s planned IPO by 5-10%. In total, he said, that could be up to $3 billion of value for the two companies combined.
But there is no guarantee that Indian Country will get behind the amended proposals.
In 2021, when a group of commercial operators ran a ballot initiative that would have allowed for statewide mobile betting, the proposal was amended with ideas from Indian Country and the tribes still did not it. In fact, California’s tribes spent approximately $250 million to kill the 2022 initiative.
Of course, the California tribes sank their own retail sports betting initiative, Proposition 26, to kill the mobile sports betting bill backed by @DraftKings @FanDuel @BetMGM and others
Background:https://t.co/jboyrUZYBk https://t.co/sVAABa5SZp— Howard Stutz (@howardstutz) November 9, 2022
Tribes don’t want help p3c
The initiative proposals were immediately met last month with voted not to the proposals during a California Nations Indian Gaming Association special meeting in November.
Last week, the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, and Wilton Rancheria submitted a letter to the California attorney general’s office outlining key reasons they would not Thompson’s proposal. Thompson removed the provisions to which the tribes objected, which were around suitability, the use of independent testing labs, and requirements about background checks.
“This problematic new language advances the agenda of offshore online gaming operators to exploit and monetize their illicit assets."
Coalition of California tribes sounds off against commercial betting proposal (click pic for breaking story)https://t.co/jfVhK8910D— Sports Handle (@sports_handle) November 29, 2023
The tribes have repeatedly said that they do not want outside help when it comes to gambling, an industry they have had a monopoly on for 30-plus years in California. Thompson promised he would not move forward with his proposals unless at least a majority of the Golden State’s tribes are in . But all tribes in California are not equal, and Thompson could be setting himself up for an expensive fight if he has the backing of many smaller and/or non-gaming tribes but not the of at least one of the state’s biggest gaming tribes.
In 2022, Indian Country as a whole did not back Proposition 27, the operator-led statewide digital wagering initiative, and spent big money to kill it. The operators spent a similar amount to try to Proposition 27, which had the Major League Baseball.
