California tribal leaders slam commercial operators' tactics in stunning rebuke
Leaders claim the likes of FanDuel and DraftKings “underestimated” tribal resources and resilience as ballot campaigns face impending defeat
Californian tribal gaming operators have taken aim at the out-of-state operator group looking to expand legal sports betting into the Golden State as both ballot campaigns look set to be defeated.
Speaking on a panel at G2E, tribal leaders hailed their own efforts to defend tribal sovereignty via Proposition 26, claiming the rival Proposition 27 campaign and its high-profile backers had “underestimated” the resilience and resources of the tribal group.
These sentiments were encapsulated by the panel moderator, Penchanga Band of Luiseno Indians spokesperson Victor Rocha, who angrily rebuked the commercial operators’ efforts.
“We’re always going to fight like it’s our last fight,” Rocha said. “They don’t respect tribal sovereignty; they don’t respect the tribes.
“Never underestimate the tribes,” he added.
The comments come on the same day that FanDuel CEO Amy Howe and DraftKings CEO Jason Robins, who were speaking as part of the G2E keynote address, acknowledged their impending defeat in California, but claimed they could “live to fight another day”, potentially with another attempt in 2024.
Addressing those comments, Pechanga public affairs officer Jacob Mejia, a panellist at the tribal briefing, baited the operators for their comments: “I heard that the FanDuel CEO said, ‘We live to fight another day,’ and I want to tell them that if you’re fighting a tribe, you’re losing.”
Panellists were particularly critical of efforts by their rivals to engender enmity between those tribes who proposed Proposition 26 and the small number of tribal operators who fell in with its counter-initiative, suggesting those efforts had spectacularly backfired.
“When they started putting up billboards around reservations that said that tribes supported [Proposition 27], it was, ‘Wow! Thank you!’ That really created more phone calls and support,” Mejia said.
“The manner in which they undertook the campaign was reprehensible,” he added.
Also, the tribes suggested a change in tactics from their rivals, drawing on similar defeated ballot initiatives in Florida, which failed to get on the ballot for the November election.
“They said they’d support homelessness [causes],” said Mejia.
“In Florida, it was education. I hope they learned a lesson. The notion of trying to hijack the goodwill of the tribal gaming […] this is a reminder to tribal leaders of how powerful they are when they come together,” he added.