Sports Betting Ballot Launched in CA
Several of the United States’ leading commercial gambling operators have revealed that they are standing behind a brand-new ballot measure intended to finally bring legal statewide online sports betting to the state of California. The claim is that it would generate billions of dollars in revenue to go towards combating homelessness and increasing mental health support.
There is a brand-new ballot measure intended to finally bring legal statewide online sports betting to the state of California, with revenue going towards getting houseless people off the streets. ©Free-Photos/Pixabay
Seven Leading Operators are Backing CA Measure
Legal sports betting in the state of California is about to receive a huge boost thanks to the announcement of a new ballot measure that would bring legal statewide online sports betting to the Golden State.
Entitled the “California Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support Act”, the measure is being supported by a selection of the country’s leading commercial gambling operators.
It would finally allow for legal online sports betting to be offered in the state, with the aim of generating billions of dollars in revenue which will be directed towards efforts to combat the state’s increasingly urgent homeless and mental health crises.
Seven of the US’ leading operators are spearheading the effort, including the likes of Bally’s, BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics, FanDuel, Penn National Gaming and Wynn Interactive.
Measure Requires 8% of Votes From Last Election Cycle
Seeing as the effort to finally deliver legal online sports betting in California is taking the form of a ballot measure, it is therefore required to make an amendment to the state’s constitution.
This means that it requires signatures from at least 8% of the number of people who voted in the last election for governor before it was filed. This total is set at 997,139 signatures for the current election cycle.
In the event that this required number of signatures is successfully obtained, the “California Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support Act” measure will appear as a referendum in California’s November 2022 ballot.
The plans are for legal online sports betting to be regulated by the gaming division housed within California’s Department of Justice. Native American tribes will still be permitted to offer their statewide betting products in tandem with select commercial operators. Unsurprisingly — players must be 21 years or older in order to place a legal bet.
Taxation is always a prescient issue when a booming industry is about to become legalized, so California’s operators will see a 10% tax on adjusted revenue. Of this total, 85% will go towards a homelessness and mental health fund, and 15% to native tribes across the state.
The gaming division of the state’s Department of Justice will publish a list of which events will be allowed to be bet on. Finally, along with regulating online gambling itself, the ballot measure plans to introduce a 15% turnover tax on any bets placed through “an illegal or tax-exempt online sports betting platform”.
Revenue Generated by Measure to Go Towards Battling State’s Homeless Crisis
The ballot measure’s campaign manager, Dana Williamson, marketed these efforts to legalize online sports gambling California as a major boon to the state’s budget:
“The California Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support Act will raise hundreds of millions of dollars annually to fight homelessness and expand mental health support in California by allowing regulated entities to offer safe, responsible sports betting online,” she said. “Funding from the initiative will help those experiencing homelessness get off the street and into housing, increase mental health services and address issues of addiction.”– Dana Williamson, Campaign Manager, California Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support Act
Also noted by the campaign team was that internal polling already indicated that 62% of respondents supported the measure, in contrast to only 26% standing in opposition to it. Last month, an earlier measure which would allow for tribal casinos to offer retail wagering was also proposed. This most recent campaign made sure to clarify that its efforts would not conflict with the still-pending tribal gaming measure.
Tribal Sports Betting First Popped Up in January 2020
One could pinpoint January 2020 as the start of efforts to legalize sports wagering in California, when the state’s Native American tribes were given approval to petition for a ballot on the issue.
Just like with the announcement of this week’s latest ballot measure, this tribal gaming measure also needed to amass the necessary minimum amount of signatures before being able to be put to vote in November of 2020.
Adam Gray, an assemblyman in the California State Assembly, stressed the urgency for a legal sports betting market in order to bring illegal betting activity out of the hands of the black market.
Bally’s Experienced Strong Q2 2021 Results
One of the backers of the “California Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support Act” ballot measure is none other than gaming, betting and interactive entertainment company Bally’s Corporation — which recently experienced a strong Q2 2021.
The operator reported a net profit of $68.9 million for the second quarter of the year, which represents a notable year-on-year increase when compared to the same period in 2020.
Bally’s CEO George Papanier used these results as strong evidence that the operator is bouncing back from the challenges of 2020:
“We had record revenue and earnings performance in the quarter and remain confident that we will continue to benefit from rebounding demand across our land-based portfolio. Improved consumer confidence, minimal capacity restrictions and our disciplined operating strategy all contributed to extremely strong numbers across the board in the second quarter.”– George Papanier, CEO, Bally’s Corporation
