Despite the fact that sports betting has been quickly rising in popularity in the US since the US Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on the practice a few years ago, there are still states which are being more cautious with the implementation of the new form of gambling.
A new survey held by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) aimed at unveiling the Californians’ opinion on the matter, as sports betting is not quite legal in the state for the time being.
On September 14th, the PPIC released the results of a new survey headlined “Californians and Their Government”. Among a variety of hot topics, the Institute also researched the local residents’ opinions on the legalization of sports betting in the state. Although it might come as a surprise to some, it seems most Californians are against the liberalization of the market by the addition of the new form of gambling. According to the results of the survey, a whopping 54% of the participants said they were against Proposition 27. The measure was backed by only 34% of the survey respondents.
As CasinoGamesPro previously reported, Proposition 27 seeks to allow major sports betting companies to partner up with local tribes and offer mobile sports betting in the state, and accept wagers on all types of non-athletic competitions.
Sports Betting Could Bring Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in Tax Revenue
Proposition 27 is not the only gambling-related piece of legislation unveiled in the state. Proposition 26 is also associated with the legalization of sports betting services, with the measure seeking to make in-person betting available at tribal casinos and the four private-owned horse racing tracks in the state of California. The measure would require the usual extra step for tribal companies to reach their own agreements with the state they have a legal permit to operate in.
Proposition 26 is mostly regarding tribal business, while Proposition 27 has been mostly supported by some of the largest US sportsbook operators – DraftKings, FanDuel, Penn Entertainment, BetMGM, Wynn Bet, Bally Bet, and Fanatics – that have invested millions of dollars into the measure’s campaigning. Unfortunately, the future prospects of Proposition 27 on the state’s ballot in November do not look quite promising, considering the large number of polled Californian residents who are against it. Of course, the legalization of the new form of gambling is likely to bring more tax revenue to the state, especially when compared to legalizing it with tribal gambling operators only.
However, local residents already seem to have a lot of knowledge of how an industry that is supposed to generate high tax revenues could fully fail to take over its illegal counterpart, which does not pay any taxes to the state and federal Governments. That has been the case with recreational marijuana, so sports betting services may not be the only service available on the regulated market that still remains quite popular among users of the black market.
So far, the projections for the online sports betting industry in California said that the sector is likely to generate annual tax revenue worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but the risk of illegal sportsbooks getting in the way remains.
