News regarding the battle for California’s market seems to emerge weekly as more organizations take sides. On Friday, The California State Association of Counties, which covers all 58 counties in the Golden State, took its stance on the issue of sports betting.
What is the California State Association of Counties’ Stance?
Proposition 26 is backed by the more prominent tribes that will be involved in gaming, while Proposition 27 is supported by some of the major sportsbook operators that are looking to enter the state.
The California State Association of Counties has made it clear that the organization will oppose Prop 27. They will join a long line of organizations and both political parties that believe that the mobile bookmakers’ initiative is highly deceptive.
Proposition 27 is backed by operators such as Bally’s, BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics, FanDuel, PENN Entertainment/Barstool Sportsbook, and WynnBET. Caesars Entertainment is one of the sportsbooks that will not be supporting this measure as the company has strong ties with the tribes in the gaming industry.
Caesars believes supporting the initiative will harm their long-standing partnership. Should the mobile sportsbooks come out victorious on the ballot, the sportsbooks will be taxed, and 10 percent of the generated funds will be going towards homelessness and mental health programs.
How does the other side view Prop 27?
Those who support Prop 26 or have a neutral stance on Prop 27 believe that the mobile sportsbooks will only look to control the lucrative market. Companies like DraftKings and FanDuel are based on the East Coast.
The gaming tribes and other organizations have argued that “will leave little for homelessness and mental health programs,” according to a press release sent out by “No on 27. According to a press release by Graham Knaus, the executive director of the California State Association of Counties, after careful consideration, stated that Proposition 27 would be a terrible deal for the state.
Both sides have spent record amounts of money across several marketing campaigns to gain voters. Independent research firm Eilers & Krejcik predicts there is little chance of voters legalizing sports betting in recent reports.
Those who reside in the Golden State have seen numerous advertisements from both sides of the argument. The numerous advertisements have caused some voters to not even want to vote on the issue when Election Day comes.
Voters Will Have the Most Say on Election Day
Voters across the state will have a choice to vote on the sports betting measures. Voters can either choose yes or no for both or choose which one they prefer.
However, the number of advertisements that have been spread across the state have turned away many of those that reside in the state. Some voters stated that they will just simply ignore the measures as they will be placed on the ballot.
If one of these measures ends up being passed, California has the chance of being the biggest market in the industry. There are about 40 million people residing in the Golden State, which is nearly double New York’s population.
