Big California Sports Betting Initiative would block competitors

Peter LewisPeter Lewis | April 28, 2022
Big California Sports Betting Initiative would block competitors

The battle continues for people hoping that California sports betting will be on the way down the road. As things stand, multiple new policies could be present for the next ballot, coming in November. With that said, the big California Sports Betting Initiative would block competitors from trying to get their licenses and this is proving to be an issue for countless people out there.

According to a report, the California sports betting initiative backed by FanDuel, DraftKings and other big-time sportsbooks would require gaming companies to pay a $100 million licensing fee to move forward with sports betting in the state. That’s a major chunk of change and one that many different outlets would not be able to pay.

Because of this, it would put companies like FanDuel, DraftKings and others in a prime position to dominate sports betting all over California. With that, though, they’d essentially be wiping out the smaller companies out there who want to have a hand in things. As you might have been able to guess, not everyone is on board with this, as it’s proving to be quite problematic. So, what will happen next?

“I think it’s absolute nonsense,” John Holden a sports gambling professor told calmatters.org about this particular situation. “I think what’s effectively happening is, basically, the 5 to 10 frontrunners in the market have decided ‘Alright, let’s ensure that there’s no one else who can compete by agreeing to pay these exorbitant license fees.’”

The $100 million fee isn’t the only hurdle for smaller betting companies

On top of that, the $100 million fee isn’t the only hurdle for the smaller betting companies in this case, as they’d also have several other loops to try and get in front of. Per the initiative, you’d also need to be licensed in 10 states, or be running in five and have at least 12 running casinos. This has to be a joke, right? Not at all, as this initiative has painted things quite clearly, and it has people beyond furious.

Because of this, it’d of course give all the power to players like DraftKings and FanDuel in the sports betting world. This would wipe away smaller competition and leave them to dominate things for people to check out the different sports odds and then move on in making their wagers on the NFL, MLB, NBA and so much more. This initiative has people split, but they’re defending their actions.

“California is best served by creating a safe and tightly regulated sports betting market, one where customers can know they are working with experienced platforms with a proven track record of safe and responsible operation in other markets,” Spokesperson Nathan Click wrote to calmatters via a statement to the publication.

As you can see from that quote from Click, the leaders of this massive initiative, powered by FanDuel, DraftKings and more, will ensure that the people of California are presented with veteran companies to work with. Their take is that these companies have such a great track record, that people won’t have to worry about customer service or odds being mixed up at a moment’s notice. It’s all interesting.

California is hoping for sports betting to arrive by next year

With all of this, California is hoping for sports betting to arrive by next year, but things are all going to be dependent on what happens with the next ballot. This will all come down to a vote, leaving it up to the people of California to decide whether or not they want sports betting to come in or not. From our chair, this decision is long overdue for the state, but not everyone is on board with it.

Per multiple reports, there’s plenty of opposition for this change to come, as a lot of folks are worried about gambling addiction. On top of that, people are also worried about sports betting coming for college athletes too. We’ve seen just how popular betting has been for non-pros, as college football odds and college basketball odds – especially for March Madness – are checked with a passion.

At the pro level, California has teams like the Lakers, Dodgers, Giants, 49ers, Rams, Chargers and more. People can’t wait to check out the odds for those teams and start making legal bets. As things stand, those people have had to make those bets either out of state, or worse, do so illegally. Illegal gambling rings remains a huge problem for California and that’s always going to be a worry.

Moving forward, people are going to wait to see what happens here, but this massive initiative could end up going through. If it does, we could see some lawsuits arrive from smaller companies and start-ups who want to get in on the betting action. This is all going to be something to monitor closely the rest of the year, as some language may end up getting changed for the initiative. Stay tuned here for updates.

Peter Lewis

Peter Lewis Jr. comes from Mississippi where he and his family spend their days discussing college football and basketball. He's written sports journalism for years after studying journalism at a local university.