The California sports betting proposal moved forward to the next step in the process.
Eagle 1 Corp., the key proponent behind an initiative to put a sports betting measure on the ballot, has begun the drive to collect the needed 874,641 signatures needed to accomplish what may be a Herculean feat given the opposition by the California Nations Indian Gaming Association.
Kasey Thompson, the person behind the Eagle 1 drive, hopes for a million signatures to assure they have more than enough legal names to get on the ballot come November.
“I’ll have a printing company ready to fire off 1.2 million petitions for Californians to sign,” he told PlayUSA.
To accelerate the process, Thompson hired “the best signature-gathering company” in California, one which he declined to name for the time being. But he did cite a cost: $25 million. He also has plans to bring in some Hall of Fame athletes to promote the effort.
What Thompson is up against is a lack of tribal support in a state where gambling must be on tribal lands. A majority of tribes oppose the proposal and will do more than gripe about it. They expect to actively campaign against it.
Thompson told PlayUSA he has not promised to take the effort to completion without more support from tribes. “Just because we start the signature campaign doesn’t mean we will go on the ballot,” he said. “I’m going to start this but I’m expecting support from other operators, support from the out-of-state operators. If nobody wants to join in then it will be a shorter signature campaign.”
“We’re starting signature gathering to preserve the ballot possibility because the writing is on the wall that a majority of tribes are shifting toward supporting the initiative,” Thompson said.
Daniel Salgado, chairman for the Cahuilla Band of Indians, told PlayUSA he will form a coalition to support those tribes involved in the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund (RSTF), and bring them on board.
Thompson expects more sportsbook operators and revenue-share tribes to come out in favor especially when a defeat might mean getting revenue from sports betting could take as long as a decade to come to fruition.
“We will collect signatures and then see where the tribal support stands. Tribes have started to come out in support, and I believe more and more will continue to come out in support as they see there’s nothing bad in it for tribes. People are extremely upset that they’ve been lied to and misled by CNIGA,” Thompson said.
The initiative would boost the economic plight of the 72 tribes who receive $1.1 million a year from the tribal RSTF. So will the inclusion of craps and roulette in tribal casinos.
“This initiative protects tribes while giving them all of the rights and all of the money,” he told PlayUSA. “ Tribes will get 25 percent in revenue from online sports betting while craps and roulette will be a massive revenue generator for all gaming tribes. All 110 California tribes will make more than $50 million each over the first five years.”
Here’s a look at the language the AG’s office approved for the petitions:
Legalizes online sports wagering statewide, and in-person sports wagering, roulette, and dice games on tribal lands, all of which currently are prohibited, if operated by federally recognized Indian tribes under gaming compacts approved by Legislature, the model compact approved by this measure, or state law enacted by this measure. Prohibits sports wagering by persons under 21. Requires participating tribes to pay up to 25 percent of sports-wagering profits to nonparticipating tribes and up to 1 percent to the state for regulatory costs. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Increased state revenues that could reach into the tens of millions of dollars annually, depending on how the measure is implemented and legally interpreted. Some portion of these revenues would reflect a shift from other existing state and local revenues. Increased state regulatory costs, potentially in the low- to mid-tens of millions of dollars annually. Some or all of these costs would be offset by the increased revenue or reimbursements to the state.
That’s a mouthful.
“The description is as clear as mud,” Las Vegas-based consultant Brendan Bussmann of B Global Advisors told Sports Handle. “And if you think voters are going to read that and understand what it does, then good luck with that.”
The summary indicates that sports betting revenue in the nation’s biggest state may need legislative assistance to succeed.
Bussmann said Thompson and his group are taking a risk by moving forward without clear support from the tribes.
“That’s never a way to start an initiative,” Bussmann said. “Do you have consensus and support? If not, you’re wasting your money.”
