Tribal Casinos Stall Sports Betting Legalization In California

California doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to legalize their online gambling and sports betting industries. While several other states are chomping at the bit to legalize sports betting as it is sure to be a lucrative revenue stream, California is not one of them.

Californians won’t even be able to cast ballots on the matter until November 2020. However, there are a number of key reasons why the state of California is taking things slow. While California has a thriving land based gambling industry, it is mostly restricted to tribal casinos and racetracks and neither of these entities appear to be very receptive of legalized sports betting. While casino operators would like to be able to offer sports betting services, tribal casinos look at it as a threat.

There are nearly 240 tribes operating casinos throughout the United States and they bring in an estimated $31 billion in gross revenues annually. It’s easy to see why they wouldn’t be overly keen to share the market with foreign operators.

California isn’t the only state facing such an obstacle. Over half of the American States have made special concessions to tribes who own and operate massively profitable casinos. California might want to consider taking another look at how other states in similar situations have solved this issue and be better prepared by the time 2020 rolls around.

Sports Betting Not A Priority For California

This conflict of interest with the tribes isn’t the only reason that California hasn’t been so fast to embrace legalized sports betting. California is one of the major consumer markets in the United States and it also happens to have an abundance of natural assets that draw tourists from all over the world.

The argument for smaller states to bring in legislation, such as expanded gambling, which would encourage and tax tourists is more convincing than it is for states like California. States like New Jersey, and Delaware that have adopted legalized gambling don’t have the necessary drivers. In other words, sports betting in California would provide a drop in the bucket in relation to the state’s economy and it is going to be a difficult task in getting sports betting legislation. So at this point in time, it is simply not worth the effort much to the dismay of sports bettors in California, USA.