After failed attempts to legalize sports betting in California, the state’s tribal groups are hoping to bring the issue back to voters in 2028.
The California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) announced this week that the group is seeking to place a ballot initiative before voters in 2028, according to CDC Gaming. The proposal would legalize retail and online wagering.
“That’s the goal, but we’ll see,” CNIGA Chairman James Siva said at the Indian Gaming Association’s annual conference in San Diego. “We’re still walking the path and doing the work. We’ve been working behind closed doors, a lot of tribal meetings with ideas and concepts. It has taken us a lot of time to get here, and now tribes are more comfortable talking about it in public.”
Battling Prediction Markets
With prediction markets expanding into states where traditional sports betting is still illegal, Siva believes the need is urgent to prevent the platforms from taking gaming market share in the Golden State. CNIGA plans to conduct a feasibility study on the issue in the coming months.
The CHIGA chairman added that prediction market firms don’t add to the state economy.
“They’re focused on California, but they won’t have an easy journey here,” Siva said. “The tribes are massing in number and unified in purpose. They won’t have the access and the ease of this market they think they will.”
He added that it was time for the tribes to take action.
“We’re not going to sit by on the sidelines, and we are now primed with everyone in this room and all the work that has been done. … We just need everyone on board to do this.”
Previous Failures
The ballot initiative plan comes on the heels of little progress on the issue over the last few years. Sports betting initiatives unveiled in 2024 went nowhere and were opposed by tribal groups.
In 2022, voters rejected two sports betting initiatives on the ballot. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has expressed opposition to online sports betting as well.
With a population of 39 million, California offers an enticing market for the industry, especially for online and mobile wagering, which account for more than 80% of all wagers placed in some legalized states.
