Two attempts late last year to bring legal sports betting to the Golden State failed to gain tribal support.
James Siva, chair of the California Nations Gaming Association, said during an address last week that it was a lesson for others to learn when it comes to attaching tribes to gaming.
“Decisions driving the future of tribal governments will be made by tribal governments, not outsiders who think they know what is best for tribes,” Siva said in a state of the tribal nations address at the Western Indian Gaming Conference, according to ggbnews.com. “To be crystal clear, any discussion or decision on the expansion of gaming in California begins and ends with tribes. Period!”
Serving a warning
Last October, poker professional Kasey Thompson and cryptocurrency company founder Reeve Collins filed two initiatives to get online sports betting legalization in front of voters in what could be the most lucrative gaming U.S. market.
And while they proposed gaming running through the tribal nations, the tribal nations opposed the initiatives. Siva said these were attempts to “divide the tribes.”
“These initiatives attempted to use the tribes’ good names to cleanse illegal offshore gambling corporations with an appalling track record of malfeasance,” Siva said. “We are pleased to report that the backers of these initiatives saw the widespread tribal opposition and realized that there was no path forward. These failures should serve as warning to others that seek to enter the California gaming market without first consulting with tribes.”
Failed measures and initiatives
CNIGA, which represents 52 of California’s 110 tribal nations, had 18 no votes and five abstaining votes in November 2023 on the two initiatives.
The idea behind the two attempts, which still got nowhere after amendments failed to impress tribal nations, was to revive online sports betting in California after two ballot measures failed to pass in 2022. The proponents attempted to gain favor with California voters by gaining the backing of the tribal nations.
It didn’t work out that way, Siva said, and now California likely won’t have legal sports betting until at least 2025.
“Last year, when I stood at the lectern to deliver this speech, tribes had emerged triumphantly from a political battle to stop commercial operators from gaining control of sports wagering with one of the largest defeats in California voting history,” Siva said. “Unfortunately, it was what seemed like mere months before another surprising group of outsiders filed two new sports betting initiatives, in a cynical attempt to enrich themselves and divide tribes in the process.”
