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Unfortunately for people in The Golden State, it feels like only negative California sports betting news is arriving on your table. More of the same was revealed this week, as the plans to try and get things across the line this year are already up in flames. In a bit of a surprise twist, new bills were put in place to try and get things done by early 2025. However, the news has come in that the new California sports betting initiative has already shut things down. Seriously?
According to a report, the leaders of this new initiative have ended the sports betting push, as they knew that the opposing view of the tribes was going to be too much for them to overcome. In case you missed it, a group of tribal leaders spoke out against the sports betting bills, as they didn’t like that tribes weren’t briefed or even consulted about the project. The tribes then teamed up to make it quite clear that they weren’t going to hop on board with the plans. This was a huge setback for the project.
“The sponsors of the two recently filed initiatives did not first reach out to the State’s largest tribal gaming association for consultation and input,” the California Nations Indian Gaming Association said via a press release. “Instead, CNIGA and our member tribes were alerted to their existence when they were filed with the Attorney General today.”
Although this sports betting initiative was put together at the last minute, it gave people in the state new-found hope that perhaps things could continue to move forward and that things would be present on the November ballot. However, that won’t be the case and not everyone is going to have to wait another year to see if things will change for the state. The same mistakes that have been made in previous years continue to be recorded in California, which is disappointing.
The chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association says they are "pleased" about the reported withdrawal of two proposed sports betting-related ballot measures, which CNIGA opposed.
His statement also includes words of warning for future efforts: "Using tribes for… pic.twitter.com/g05RHaJjC9
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) January 23, 2024
California is dealing with countless illegal NFL postseason bets
With legal wagers now not expected for a long time, illegal activity is only going to keep being a problem for the state. It goes without saying, but California is dealing with countless illegal NFL postseason bets and things are only going to get worse with NFL Super Bowl betting right around the corner. This weekend, both the AFC Championship Game and the NFC Championship Game will take place on Sunday.
For People in California, they’re surely going to have a close eye on the NFC matchup, as the San Francisco 49ers are one win away from competing for the Lombardi Trophy. In the Divisional Round, the 49ers went back and forth with the Green Bay Packers, but late heroics from quarterback Brock Purdy helped the team avoid an upset loss. Now, they’re focused on taking on the Detroit Lions with the NFC title on the line. The 49ers hold -110 NFL betting odds to take down Detroit.
CAN'T RAIN ON OUR PARADE! #DoItForTheBay pic.twitter.com/64An0lyAEe
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 21, 2024
“It’s not just one area, we just want to play our best football, do everything we can to play our best,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said after the thrilling win. “We feel like we can win every game when we do that. We don’t feel like we did that today, but we still found a way to win, which (I’m) very proud of the guys in there, I thought that was as big of a mental challenge and just a character game as any game I’ve been part of.”
With such big games on the way this weekend, authorities are going to be working overtime to try and contain the high number of illegal wagers that they’ve seen in recent weeks. It won’t be easy, as people have loved every minute of placing bets on the NFL action – they could care less if it’s illegal or not. This is going to keep being a major problem for lawmakers and officials in California until everyone can get on the same page and find a way to get legal options permitted.
California sports betting in 2025 still remains a viable option
While a lot of people are down in the dumps over the latest news that just dropped, don’t forget that California sports betting in 2025 still remains a viable option. Now that we know for sure that things will not be present in the 2024 ballot in November, lawmakers are going to get back to the drawing board and try to work on a plan that will make everyone happy. Not only that, but they’ve simply got to find a way to get the local tribes involved too. They can’t exclude them from the planning.
This is exactly what happened with this new betting initiative and no one liked that. It’s a big reason why things have been shut down in such a shocking fashion. In order for the same mistake to not be repeated, people need to roll up their sleeves and discuss a way to get legal sports betting approved, but in a manner that multiple parties can agree on. If that doesn’t happen, then the same exact result can be expected at this point next year. That can’t happen.
