Fifteen states have joined New Jersey since the sports-betting prohibition was ended by the Supreme Court in May 2018. California, the USA’s richest state and potential jewel in the crown of US sports betting is not one of them. Recently, however, there has been some movement in that direction. Www.LegalSportsReport.com reported this week that a series of betting hearings are being set up to consider ways of legalizing sports betting in California.
One would be for its legislators to legalize sports betting by passing a local constitutional amendment.
It is called Senate Constitutional Amendment 6 and they have set November 20 as the tentative date for the first hearing.
Experts to testify at Betting hearings
Sports betting experts and important stakeholders in the field will testify. A body of 40 legislators who’ll decide whether to put the Amendment to the public vote will hear them.
However, if you are one of California’s 39.9 million people who enjoy sports betting; don’t hold your breath with expectation.
It looks as if you must continue traveling into Nevada or working with illegal sportsbooks for at least another year.
It won’t be enough for the first 40 legislators to give the amendment their thumbs up.
Next it will have to go forward to the 80-member California State of Assembly. And both chambers will need to provide supermajority approval before California’s public gets its say.
No betting vote until 2020 elections
And that won’t be until November 2020, when the proposed amendment will be put to the public vote as part of the next state elections.
California State senator Bill Dodd, assisted by Adam Gray, is the man responsible for the concept of Amendment 6.
By adding an extra line to the state constitution, he says, will give California the right to authorize sports betting. As long as the Wire Act remains in force, it will also enable the state to get the millions of dollars in betting tax currently being enjoyed by Nevada.
In a state as large and as diversified as California, there is bound to be some opposition to Dodd’s amendment. One likely adversary could be its Native American tribes who operate Casinos in California.
They might feel the amendment could have a negative effect on their Casinos and their exclusive rights to games like craps, roulette, and blackjack.
An ‘amicable agreement’ can be negotiated
Dodd disagrees. He firmly believes an amicable agreement between the state and the tribes can be negotiated along with a yes vote from the public.
There is still a long road to negotiate before Californians can start placing legal sports wagers. However, with the betting hearings soon to progress, we should start getting a feel about it before the years-end.