Multi-operator California sportsbook measure to be passed to November 2022 vote
Petition signature verification completed with group set to go head-to-head with rival tribal gaming-backed initiative
A multi-operator legislative initiative aimed at expanding and legalizing sports betting in California is to be included in a November 2022 ballot.
The deadline day by which county election officials across 58 counties in the Golden State are required to complete verification of Californians who have signed petitions in support of the various legislative initiatives up for consideration in the upcoming ballot passed on Monday.
One of the biggest initiatives making the ballot is the “Californians for Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support” campaign, an initiative backed by seven out-of-state operators aiming to legalize betting in the state, with all proceeds going to homeless and social causes.
These include FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Bally’s, Penn National Gaming, and Wynn Resorts, while sports merchandizer Fanatics has also voiced its support.
The Californians for Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support campaign’s 1.6 million signatures have been confirmed, with California officials confirming the independent verification of more than 1,096,853 randomly checked signatures.
Over $100m has been contributed to the campaign, which is up against a number of competing initiatives including a multi-million-dollar campaign by a coalition of Californian Indian tribes seeking to limit sports betting to tribal operators.
The rival $100m Californians for Tribal Sovereignty and Safe Gaming initiative (CTSSG) which launched in February is the brainchild of three tribes – the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, the Rincon Band of Luisueño Indians, and Wilton Rancheria.
The CTSSG has tabled its own legislator amendment, the Age-Verified Tribal Online and In-Person Sports Wagering Regulatory Act, an initiative which seeks to make Californian sports betting the exclusive ground of tribal operators, which has also made the November ballot.
California is the largest state in the US, with a population of nearly 39 million, more than double that of New York state which greenlit sports betting in January, enjoying a hugely successful debut.
The Golden State has the world’s fifth-largest economy with a gross domestic product of $3.36trn in 2021, exceeding other countries including the UK, India, and France.
Speaking at BetMGM’s Investor Day last month, BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt cited the importance of getting Californian sports betting through the door, suggesting it would aid the firm in becoming EBITDA-positive by 2023.
“Our path to profitability next year does not include a launch in California, so if California does get approved, that’s a great news story for our business,” Greenblatt told investors.
“We’ve demonstrated the state level economics, the unit economics of a new state, and obviously in California we have a good deal of certainty of what the fiscal and regulatory framework will be.
“If it does get approved in November, there will be investment at the back end of next year, should it have launched in that kind of timetable. It will require a lot of investment but it’s a very positive story for BetMGM,” Greenblatt added.