Sports Betting Alliance, Tribes Consider Plan for Wagering Framework in California
The Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention kicked off March 31 with a panel that featured two of the nation’s most prominent executives in the sports betting industry.
DraftKings CEO Jason Robins made a rare appearance during a panel moderated by conference Chairman Victor Rocha. Robins was joined by Christian Genetski, president of FanDuel Group. The two executives appeared ready to mend fences with California tribes after a failed 2022 ballot initiative. The referendum on mobile sports betting only received 17 percent of the overall vote, far below the threshold needed for approval.
“It is safe to say we won’t do another 2022-style referendum,” said Genetski. “The conversation needs to be driven by the tribes.” Robins emphasized that maintaining a positive relationship between the tribes and commercial operators should remain “essential.”
A day later, the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA), a group of leading commercial sportsbooks, unveiled a proposed tribal collective market structure that would enable national operators to enter the California market.
Members of the SBA, which is composed of four operators including DraftKings and FanDuel, would pay a minimum guaranteed amount to each tribe on an annual basis. The proposal also calls for monthly revenue-sharing payments from the commercial operators to the tribes. News of the proposal was first reported by Casino Reports.
Two tribal groups, the California Nations Indian Gaming Association and the Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations, issued a statement regarding the roundtable with the SBA April 2. The groups noted that further discussions among tribal governments are expected to take place in the coming weeks and months.
“This is a complex matter that involves navigating federal, state and tribal laws, which requires thorough debate and careful resolution,” they wrote in the statement.
Midwestern States Become Latest to Issue C+D Orders Against Kalshi
As the road to the Final Four came to an end, two Midwestern states joined several others in issuing cease-and-desist orders to operators of websites that offer prediction markets on sports.
On March 31, Ohio became the third state to issue a notice to Kalshi, following Nevada and New Jersey. A day later, the Illinois Gaming Board issued a similar order to Kalshi, Robinhood and Crypto.com. Kalshi, a New York-based prediction market, has come under fire from a bevy of states over the contention that its derivative products on sports have characteristics that mimic sports wagering.
Last week, Robinhood pulled sports event contracts in New Jersey after regulators gave the exchange less than 48 hours to remove the offerings across the state. Unlike the others, the Illinois regulator did not set a firm date that requires the sites to comply with the request.
Meanwhile, the Ohio Casino Control Commission took exception to the availability of the contracts to minors. The companies allow customers under 21 to sign up on their websites, OCCC Executive Director Matthew Schuler wrote in a press release. The commission views the easy access to minors as a “flagrant” repudiation of the state’s gambling laws.
In response, Kalshi has filed suit against two states, New Jersey and Nevada. A New Jersey court delayed a hearing scheduled for this week until April 30. The new hearing date coincides with a roundtable on event contracts scheduled by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on the same day. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour argued that the state regulators “fundamentally misunderstand” the products, which he believes reinforces the foundation of U.S. financial markets.
“They mobilize the most elegant and effective properties of free financial markets towards the pursuit of unbiased truth,” Mansour wrote in a post on X.
Hawaii Sports Betting Bill Passes Senate Committee
Since the repeal of PASPA in 2018, Hawaii has remained on a short list of states with steep odds to legalize sports betting.
The odds lowered this week after a Senate committee passed a bill that would decriminalize the activity in the Aloha State. The bill, HB 1308, advanced in the Senate Ways and Means Committee by a vote of 11-2. The bill sets a $250,000 licensing fee and a proposed tax fee of 10 percent on sports wagering revenues.
The proposed legislation would require a full Senate vote of approval before it can be sent to the desk of Gov. Josh Green. If signed, the bill allows for up to four legal sports betting platforms statewide.
“As you can see, the legislature wanted to be cautious and that’s smart,” Green told reporters. “We got a survey and about two out of three in our state wanted to do gaming – as long as the monies went to an important set of projects.”
