Coalition of Southern California cities opposed to tribal sports betting initiative

A group of cities in Southern California has joined forces in opposition to a tribal sports betting measure set to appear on the ballot this November.

The coalition asserts that the Tribal Sports Wagering Act – which would legalize sports betting and allow California’s tribal casinos and racetracks to operate sportsbooks – poses a serious threat to the state’s card rooms.

To support this assertion, the tribal coalition claims the sports betting initiative could kill 32,000 jobs and cost the Los Angeles region more than $70m in tax revenue while wiping out $1.6bn in annual worker wages.

Another concern is centered around the Private Attorney General Act, which the coalition contends could be expanded to allow tribal casinos to hire private attorneys to sue card rooms if the measure is passed, effectively removing the state’s attorney general from that role.

The Southern California cities comprising the coalition include Commerce, Compton, Bell Gardens and Hawaiian Gardens.

Card rooms in California have long been opposed to the Tribal Sports Wagering Act, which they believe would grant the tribes a near monopoly on all gaming in the Golden State.

As it currently stands, the tribes have exclusivity solely over slot machines. But under the ballot measure, that would extend to popular table games such as roulette and craps – while also making the tribes primary stakeholders in legalized sports betting.

After being unable to generate momentum for their own ballot measure, some card rooms mounted unsuccessful legal challenges against the initiative before turning their attention to lobbying against it.

The Tribal Sports Wagering Act is likely to be joined on the ballot by a separate initiative backed by the likes of FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM that would provide an entry point for the online gaming giants into a legalized California market.