Two proposed ballots in California are seeking to grant tribes exclusive rights to both retail and online sports betting. These measures were filed with the state’s attorney general in October 2023. Reeve Collins, co-founder and CEO of Pala Interactive, is listed as the contact for media inquiries related to the ballots. Pala Interactive, established by the Pala Band of Mission Indians in 2013, was acquired by Boyd Gaming in November 2022.
The authors of the ballots have been actively pursuing financial backing for signature collection from sports betting operators. However, members of the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA), which includes major entities such as BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics Sportsbooks, have announced they will not provide funding.
Nathan Click, a spokesperson for the SBA, emphasized their opposition to the proposed measures. "In the interest of clarity, and consistent with our previously stated opposition to these measures, we can commit that SBA won’t be funding or otherwise supporting either of these sports wagering initiatives," Click stated. He further expressed concerns that without substantial tribal support, the initiatives are likely to fail and could hinder productive discussions for several years. "This initiative is constructed to prevent the market from reaching anything close to its potential to the detriment of all stakeholders," he said, highlighting the impact on commercial operators, Californians, and tribes involved in revenue sharing. He also criticized the foundation of the initiative, which he claimed is based on attracting customers acquired through illegal offshore operations, asserting it does not meet the regulatory standards upheld by the SBA's membership.
The first ballot, titled The Sports Wagering Regulation and Tribal Gaming Protection Act, outlines several proposals. Among these is a requirement for tribes to contribute 15% of their adjusted sports betting gross gaming revenue (GGR) to a tribal wagering revenue sharing trust fund, as well as 10% to a California homelessness and mental health fund. Additionally, tribes would need to collaborate with sports betting operators, which would function as vendors.
Amendments made to this ballot in December aimed to garner greater tribal support. Notable changes include delaying the launch of sports wagering until July 1, 2025, a slight advance from the previously proposed date of September 1, 2025. Under the proposed measures, tribes currently receiving approximately $1 million annually would see their revenues potentially increase by 15 to 20 times. Contributions to the tribal wagering revenue sharing trust fund would rise from 15% to 25%, and the requirement for in-person online gambling registration for those more than 10 miles from a casino would be lifted after two years.
Details regarding the second ballot, known as The Tribal Gaming Protection Act, are limited, but it specifies that sports betting will be exclusively offered through tribes in California.
The SBA's announcement signals another setback for supporters of the ballots, which have already faced opposition from various tribes and operators. When the proposals were first introduced, Pala Interactive was given 180 days to collect the necessary signatures through a random sample. The backers need to gather 874,641 signatures for voters to consider the ballot, with election officials also required to verify at least 500 of those signatures. The next election is scheduled for November 5, 2024.
This latest effort follows previous sports betting proposals that were rejected by voters in November 2022, despite some initial support indicated by a poll earlier that year. In May 2022, it was confirmed that a proposition would appear on the ballot along with another initiative backed by tribal gaming groups known as the Tribal Sports Wagering Act Initiative. However, Democratic leaders in California urged voters to reject these proposals, and ultimately, both were turned down at the polls.
