Most of the biggest California tribes in and commercial sports betting operators might still be licking their wounds after an election day in 2022 saw both sides of the fence on sports wagering crash to defeat.
A commercial operator push would have led to statewide mobile betting. The major tribes worked to kill the effort. It worked. But so did efforts to kill tribal proposals.
It seems as if one tribe wishes to throw off the yoke of defeat and turn the corner with a winning amendment for 2024. Reports say that the Pala Band of Mission Indians sought to file an online betting initiative proposal October 9. The thrust will be to ascertain whether there is enough support to move forward.
Three key tribes from the 2022 debacle— Graton Rancheria, Pechanga and San Manuel—denied they are behind any such initiative, sources tell Sports Handle. Pala leads the California Tribal Business Alliance along with five other tribal members. But a source with ties to one of the alliance members said that tribe wasn’t part of the filing.
Major operators are clueless about any new tribal plan, sources say.
Pala Chairman Robert Smith told tribal leaders October 8 to expect a news release the following day which will address a sports betting initiative for 2024.
And as of this report, there was no release by the end of the work day October 9.
Still, the Palas don’t need to alert anyone, given their track record, 2022 aside.
“This is a tribe that has a proclivity to go out on its own, and maybe that’s what’s happening again here,” Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro told PlayUSA. “Maybe this is just a case of one tribe wanting it so much when no one else really seems to want it. Certainly voters didn’t want it last election. But I’m looking forward to seeing the language. Maybe they came up with something brilliant that no one else thought up.”
Pala has a track record of being aggressive when it comes to online gaming. One source told Sports Handle that said initiative might consist of two proposals, one with a 51-to-49 percent split favoring the tribe.
Any ballot push will target the presidential election year of 2024. The proposal would have to be scrutinized by the attorney general’s office, with a 30-day public comment period to follow. After the public comment period ends and a title and summary are issued, backers would need to collect more than 874,000 signatures to make it on the ballot. After filing the initiative with the attorney general, the petitioner must wait 65 days to circulate the petition for signatures.
The Pala tribe, which is located in north San Diego County, was one of the first tribes in the nation to get involved in the online gaming space. The tribe created Pala Interactive as an online gaming platform in 2013. Pala sold the iGaming software and services company it created to Boyd Gaming in 2022 for $170 million.
Pala also isn’t afraid to step out and pursue its own agenda without agreement from other tribes. It was the first tribe to come to terms on a gaming compact with the state of California. And, in 1998, Pala joined Nevada casinos in opposing Prop 5, the ballot measure that set up California tribal casino gaming as it exists today.
In the 2022 election, Pala spent about $3 million opposing Prop 27, the online sports betting initiative backed by commercial gaming companies.
Whether Pala follows through on any proposed new initiative could depend on if it attracts some deep-pocket tribal partners in the coming months.
Four sports betting initiatives were filed for the 2022 election, two by tribes. Two made the ballot and failed badly. Commercial-backed Prop 27 garnered 17.7 percent of the vote, the 11th-worst finish in state history. Tribal-backed Prop 26 got support from 33 percent of voters.
Representatives of San Manuel and Pechanga, the two tribes that spent the most on this issue last election cycle, have consistently told PlayUSA their polling shows there is no voter support in California for an online sports betting initiative in 2024.
Just last month at the Indian Gaming Association Mid-Year Conference, California Nations Indian Gaming Association Chairman James Siva and Macarro said they didn’t expect any sports betting initiatives filed in California for the 2024 election. Not from tribes or commercial operators despite any murmurs some heard.
It may also be too late, even with the election more than a year away. To have a full 180 days to collect signatures for a random count, the secretary of state recommends submitting an initiative by August 22.
After filing the initiative with the attorney general, the petitioner must wait 65 days to circulate the petition for signatures. During this time, the attorney general creates a title and summary for the initiative. And the department of finance and legislative analyst prepares a fiscal estimate. The secretary of state recommends petitioners submit signatures to counties for verification by April 23. But there can be a one-to-two-week leeway.
Legalizing sports betting in California requires amending the state constitution. Petitions proposing a constitutional amendment in 2024 require 874,641 valid signatures. That is significantly less than the 997,139 required in 2022. Initiatives must be qualified by the secretary of state by June 27, 2024, at least 131 days prior to the November 5 election.
