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There have been nothing but negative California sports betting updates this year and unfortunately things aren’t slowing down. The hope was that things would be legalized by now, but now the expectation is that 2025 would be the earliest something could get done. Perhaps that won’t be the case? This week a new betting panel provided more bad news for California sports betting and people are up in arms.
Indeed, there was a conference held in the USA with some of the major sportsbooks to discuss hot-topic items. The California sports betting project was brought up, with experts not having any kind of a firm prediction of when things will get done. According to reporter Ben Fawkes, the panel made it quite clear that the local tribes and the major sportsbooks are still on the outs, something which was a major issue in 2022 for the November ballot.
No predictions on when California will legalize sports betting from the panel today.
But it’s clear that there still a LOT of mending to do in relationship between big operators and tribes.
Sounds like we’re a ways off from anything happening
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) May 9, 2024
In case you forgot, there were two sports betting bills on that ballot, with the tribes going up against the sportsbooks. This led to a divide in the state, as the two were pitted against one another. Some rough ads were run and things got ugly pretty darn quickly. Both of those sports betting bills failed, leaving California back at square one for its efforts. Now, it seems like things have only gotten worse.
Following the panel, some analysts think California sports betting could even be delayed until 2027. If that turns out to be the case, it’d be a nightmare for everyone involved. California is missing out on a ton of money each year from betting revenue. This is something that plenty of politicians are fully aware of, yet nothing is being done to try and get things fixed. Who knows when this will happen, but we could have to wait until 2027.
Politicians know illegal betting continues to be a problem
It goes without saying, but politicians know illegal betting continues to be a problem in California. With countless sports teams and pro teams in the state, it makes sense that people are finding ways to place money on squads. This was brought up at the panel, but all we can do is hope that authorities are finding ways to keep things from growing. They’ve been hard at work in recent years, as countless rings have been shut down.
However, not everyone can be stopped. Thus far this year, we’ve seen a lot of illegal activity for the NFL, NBA and MLB. Don’t forget that March Madness is one of the most popular sports events of the year, with people in California of course checking the NCAAB betting odds this spring for the tournament. Millions of dollars were transferred in an illegal fashion, which is something that can’t continue to be the case moving forward.
In other states, we’ve seen betting alliances formed to try and help speed up the efforts for legalization. This is being posted in Texas, with former Governor Rick Perry joining the efforts. Just like in California, sports teams in Texas understand the major benefits that would arrive if sports betting would be legalized. Teams would be able to cash in on revenues and also have sponsorship deals grow.
In California alone, teams like the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Dodgers always have strong odds to win titles. With the Dodgers, they’re among the World Series betting favorites, with their fans hating the fact that they can’t post any legal bets in their home state on LA getting the job done this year. Unfortunately for them, things aren’t going to change until maybe next year, with 2027 also being discussed.
Betting being delayed to 2027 in California can’t happen
Having said all of that, betting being delayed to 2027 in California can’t happen – the tribes and sportsbooks are going to have to find a way to try and meet in the middle and get rid of their issues. If not, then all that’s going to happen is that more years are going to pass by without legal sports betting and everyone will be a loser with that result. Are egos so big that people can’t put their differences aside?
So far, this has been the case, which is disappointing. At this point last year, people were already eyeing 2024 as the year for history to be made. In terms of NFL betting, football fans were heartbroken that the 49ers won the NFC and made the Super Bowl, but people could not place bets on them. Is that going to be the case next winter too if SF gets back to the big game? Most likely, yes.
Which home game are you looking forward to the most this season? 👀#FTTB
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) May 8, 2024
If we have to wait three more years for legal betting, though, people all over the state are going to be livid. There’s no reason that people should have to leave California in order to try and put money down on their favorite teams. Only time will tell if 2025 brings us all the news we are hoping for, but optimism is quite low. It will be interesting to see if a shocker will arrive or not.
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