North Bay Tribes show their support for the state’s initiative of legalizing sports betting at all tribal casinos in native lands. This will end up being an expensive campaign.
The state measure was qualified to take place during the ballot in November 2022. If measures are approved, it will limit betting to tribal casinos and the state’s four licensed horse tracks. It will also allow roulette and dice games at tribal casinos.
David McCuan, the chairperson of the political science department at Sonoma State University, said that the measure would move things from Cardroom to full-fledge Vegas-like casinos. Interested players do not have to visit Vegas or any other state to play casinos.
The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria that owns the Bay Area’s casino contributed around $1.7 million to the campaign backing measure. It ended up being the largest contributor in the state.
The Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, which owns the River Rock Casino in Geyserville, supports the measure. However, it hasn’t yet contributed any money towards the campaign.
However, tribes demand to have the most control over sports betting since they can manage the industry strategically. The tribe maintains that it is a tightly controlled environment and engages in sports betting for many years.
This new initiative would lead to a 10% tax on sports wagering revenue from horse tracks, and the tribal casinos will need to pay a portion of their total revenue.
Meanwhile, Lytton Band of Pomo Indians and Graton Tribal Chairman Greg Sarris decline to comment on this update.
However, California card rooms have been against the measure, with seven operators flushing in $7 million.
Kyle Kirkland, the president of the California Gaming Association, says that this initiative will not be legalizing sports wagering in the California state but will result in an untaxed monopoly on games and help expand tribal casino operators.
Since the US Supreme Court passed on the bill to legalize sports gambling in the country in 2018, more than 30 states and Columbia District have legalized wagering on all sporting events taking place in the country.
Now California’s measure will allow gamblers to bet on professional and college sports freely.
According to State Senator Bill Dodd, prohibiting online sports gambling will bring down the state revenue. By allowing digital wagering, the state will earn around $500 million a year.
