Chris Boline
You’ve almost got to feel terrible for proponents of sports betting in California right now. With two propositions ready to be voted on, the expectation for months now has been that one would be voted in, and legal wagers would be following sooner after. This had people over the moon with happiness. Oh, how things have changed. Now, California sports betting supporters are gearing up for the worst with the ballot. This is harsh.
As readers of MyTopSportsbooks recently learned, a new poll shows that the two propositions in California aren’t gaining momentum among potential voters. With this, the troubling reality is that it’s looking like neither of these sports betting initiatives are going to pass once the November ballot comes and goes. With this, it’s only going to mark yet another delay in things getting across the board.
Just when you think sports betting is getting ready to take a step forward, two steps back are recorded. Over the summer, people were celebrating the news about sports betting potentially making its way to the Golden State. Now, no one knows what in the heck is going to go down here and the pessimism has never been worse. With the recent poll showing that a lot of people will be voting against betting, there’s a lot of worry.
It doesn’t help that the tribal leaders and sportsbooks companies have been blasting one another through different advertisements recently. This has only caused for people to question whether or not each side has the state in its best interest moving forward. If anything, this has turned people off from wanting to see either of them succeed or take charge with sports betting. This isn’t good to see at all.
Both DraftKings’ Jason Robins and FanDuel’s Amy Howe still holding out hope for Prop 27 passing in California, but seem resigned that 2024 is far more likely than next month.
That would mean 2025 as earliest for legal sports betting to be implemented in California
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) October 11, 2022
Sportsbooks have pulled money on betting ads
In a shocking turn of events, the sportsbooks have pulled money on betting ads, which appears to be a direct result of the negative publicity that has come in. Per a report, both the sportsbooks and tribes have spent right around $500 million, of course including outside investments, on ads. With the two sides taking cheap shots at one another, there’s been a nasty fight that’s been ongoing.
With these commercials now expected to be reduced, it feels like the sportsbooks know they’ve made a big mistake. Not only that, but millions and millions of dollars have gone by the wayside thanks to the new updates. This indeed has been a nasty fight between the two sides, and an insane amount of money feels like it has been wasted. While there’s still a chance one of the initiatives passes, things don’t look good.
Because of this, you can fully expect illegal bets to be on the rise in California. The uncertainty of the ballot now has people furious with how everything has played out. The expectation was that legal bets would be allowed as soon as January. That’s not going to happen now, unless something drastic changes. Right now, people are checking the NFL betting odds consistently, especially with the Rams, Chargers and 49ers in action.
Not only that, but both USC and UCLA are undefeated in the Pac-12, which of course is leading to people checking the NCAAF betting odds and placing wagers on the Trojans and Bruins, respectively. It’s been a fantastic season for those two California colleges, which is awesome. Yet, illegal bets on these teams are also high as a result. That’s not going to be stopping in the near future.
Past meets present 3️⃣✌️ pic.twitter.com/Pyw1Q7bOHs
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) October 11, 2022
Can California sports betting still be made legal?
With everything we’ve stated above, folks are wondering can California sports betting still be made legal? The answer of course is yet. There are so many citizens in California that can’t wait to get to the voting booths to show their support for the legalization of sports betting. At the end of the day, things could be very close here. It could end up being a coin flip, though things might not go down the way people hope.
With that said, you just never know. Things could be flipped at the last minute, and the people that are completely against sports betting could end up changing their minds. They could end up seeing the benefits of sports betting and decide to show their support. This has the potential to be a big-time revenue earner for the state, with that money being used for the much-needed resources in need. This is why people are pushing for it to go down in the first place. This has been needed.
The sports teams want this too, as the benefits of sports betting have no limits. It’d improve the gameday experience for fans too; that much has been made obvious. In order for a miracle to be recorded for sports betting, though, both leaders of these initiatives must go back to the drawing board in terms of winning votes. The ads aren’t getting the job done. Something else will have to suffice in this case.
