The Republican Party does not want to see sports betting in California offered online or in-person at tribal casinos.
The California GOP announced its opposition to both Prop. 26 and Prop. 27 — the two ballot measures dealing with sports betting — on Friday. That means the Republicans are in agreement with the Democrats on opposing online California sportsbooks, though Democrats are neutral on retail tribal betting.
Both proposals will be on November‘s ballot. Should either pass, sports betting could be live in California by 2023.
Does GOP stance on California sports betting matter?
The Republican Party had a better record than the Democrats in 2020. Seven of the 11 ballot initiatives in 2020 followed the GOP’s stance compared to four out of 11 for the Democrats.
This is not just another ballot proposal, though. Hundreds of millions of dollars are going into supporting and opposing both propositions with the more than $350 million already collected making it the most funded ballot issue in US history, according to PlayCA.
That means there will be plenty of advertisements getting these issues out in front of the voting public. That could lead to more personal decisions by voters instead of simply voting along party lines.
Sportsbooks add $50 million to coffers
Five of the seven sportsbooks behind Prop 27 chipped in another $50 million in July:
- Fanatics: $12.5 million
- PENN Entertainment: $12.5 million
- BetMGM: $8.3 million
- DraftKings: $8.3 million
- FanDuel: $8.3 million
All five of those operators have now contributed $25 million each toward the effort. Bally Bet and WynnBET gave $12.5 million each in 2021.
The proposal also has the support of three California tribes. Major League Baseball also announced its support for Prop 27 this month.
Plenty of California sports betting ads coming
There have been plenty of ads about each proposition so far with more likely to come over the next two and a half months.
Most recently, the online betting backers released an ad directly outlining its positives for California compared to Prop 26.
A group of more than 50 tribes asked the online backers to stop a “despicable” ad that claims it will help non-gaming tribes. That came after tribal-funded ad used comments from DraftKings CEO Jason Robins in a commercial showing the company is more worried about profits than funding homelessness solutions in the state.
