California legislators are gearing up to have sports betting voted into law next year. The two legislators spearheading this campaign have until June 2020 to get the bill to a vote. Then residents of The Golden State will vote to decide whether they want sports betting in their state or not. Fort now the goal is to convince other lawmakers to get on the sports betting wagon. California only permits lotteries, charitable gambling, tribal casinos, getting legal sports gambling would propel the gambling industry in the state to new heights. Who is at the forefront of this campaign to legalize sports betting? What do they need to turn this into a reality?
The two Legislators behind the Proposed Bill
Senator Bill Dodd and an Assemblyman – Adam Gray are the duo pushing for the legalization of sports betting in the Golden state. Together they have created a bill which alters the constitution to allow betting on sports. The race is on to convince the rest of the house to get behind them since they have a June 2020 deadline they are chasing. For the bill to make it to a state vote they need two thirds of the assembly to vote in favour. That is no easy task ahead of the two men.
In a recent interview with KTXL a local Fox News affiliate last week, Dodd explained how he hoped to bring all “gambling institutions” together. This has brought resistance from the tribes in California. They are apprehensive about a bill that may encroach on their revenue. Although the tribes are in opposition to this bill, the majority of the house is Democrats. Even if Governor Newsom vetoed the bill, they would have enough support to overturn his decision. Although we do not expect Newsom to be against the sports betting bill. He just recently signed a “Pay to Play” bill which effectively allows college athletes to earn money as they play in college sports.
The state has a very active sports culture, hosting more than a dozen professional sports teams. It seems only reasonable to tap into the money-making tax revenue that sports betting would provide. It is expected that the sports betting bill will open up online gambling since most residents are far from land-based casinos.
We will watch out for any developments on this story and keep you updated.
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