California Approves New Sports Betting Petition Drive

The Evolution of Sports Betting in California: A Look into the Recent Petition Drives

The landscape of sports betting in California has undergone significant changes, with the state’s latest sports betting petition drive marking a pivotal moment in its evolution. This initiative, spearheaded by tribal leaders, received the green light from California’s Secretary of State, Shirley Weber, effectively setting the stage for a potential overhaul of the state’s sports betting regulations.

On January 11, the petition for “The Age-Verified Tribal Online And In-Person Sports Wagering Regulatory Act” was approved for circulation by both the California Attorney General’s Office and Weber. This development opened the door for organizers to gather the 997,139 verified voter signatures required to place the proposal on the ballot. The concerted effort aimed to amend the state constitution, permitting recognized tribes to offer retail and statewide online sports betting through servers located on tribal lands.

In November 2022, California voters rejected both Proposition 26 (tribal retail sports betting) and Proposition 27 (online sports betting), with Prop 26 receiving 30.9% support and Prop 27 16.4%.

A Race Against Time and Opposition

The initiative’s proponents were granted until July 11, 2022, to amass the necessary signatures—a daunting task that was met with both anticipation and skepticism. If successful, Californians would have had the opportunity to redefine the sports betting landscape as early as September 1, 2023, contingent upon the amended gaming compacts’ final approval by the US Department of the Interior.

As of 2025, sports betting remains illegal in California, with the next possible ballot opportunity in 2026; recent polls show mixed voter sentiment, with 60% open to legalization but 63% opposition in some surveys.

This tribal-led proposal was not the state’s first foray into the sports betting arena but rather the fourth proposed sports betting ballot initiative and the second of its kind led by tribal entities for the November 2022 California general election ballot. The first, known as the “California Legalize Sports Betting on American Indian Lands Initiative,” sought to legalize retail sportsbooks, roulette, and dice games at tribal casinos, alongside allowing retail sports betting at privately-owned racetracks in four California counties.

Intense Rivalries and Legal Challenges

The journey to the ballot was fraught with opposition, most notably from a coalition of card rooms that contested the initiative’s language concerning table games, alleging it violated the “single-subject rule” for state constitutional amendments. This legal contention underscored the deep-seated rivalries between card rooms and tribal casinos, each vying for a piece of the lucrative sports betting pie.

California’s tribal casinos operate over 70,000 slot machines and 2,000 table games, more than any other state, highlighting the scale of existing tribal gaming.

Gardena Mayor Tasha Cerda articulated an inclusive vision for the competing card room initiative, emphasizing its potential to benefit all parties involved, including tribes, by expanding the scope of legal sports betting and other gaming activities. This proposal, too, faced the challenge of securing enough signatures by its April 18 deadline.

The Emergence of Big-Name Sportsbooks

Amidst these tribal and card room-led efforts, national sportsbooks DraftKings and FanDuel threw their hats into the ring with a proposal aimed at legalizing online sports betting statewide through partnerships with tribal casinos. This initiative highlighted the vast, untapped potential of redirecting Californians’ billions of dollars spent annually on illegal, offshore online sports betting sites to regulated, secure, and age-verified platforms.

As the May 3, 2022, deadline approached for gathering signatures, the sportsbook initiative had already achieved 25 percent of its target, showcasing considerable momentum and public interest.

What Lies Ahead for California Sports Betting?

With each of the four initiatives requiring state certification of at least 997,139 valid voter signatures to qualify for the ballot, the stakes could not have been higher. The convergence of these proposals raised intriguing questions about the future landscape of sports betting in California, especially considering the potential for multiple initiatives to qualify and compete for voters’ approval.

Experts predicted that the outcome could hinge on which proposal garnered the most “yes” votes, a scenario that underscored the complexities and competitive dynamics at play in the state’s sports betting legalization efforts.

In retrospect, the evolution of sports betting in California through these petition drives reflects a broader narrative of regulatory change, stakeholder competition, and the ongoing quest for a more inclusive, regulated, and profitable sports betting market. As the dust settles, the impact of these initiatives, both successful and unsuccessful, will undoubtedly shape the future of sports betting in the Golden State for years to come.