Tribes Gain Over 1.4M Signatures To Put CA Sports Betting On 2022 Ballot

• Californians could see sports wagering legalization on their November 2022 ballots.
• The Tribes in the Golden State have acquired the appropriate number of signatures to put the topic of gambling on sporting events on the ballot in 2022.
• Counties have until Mach 2021 to report verified signatures by executive order, otherwise, they’d typically have only eight days from submission for verification.

LOS ANGELES – California’s Coalition to Authorize Sports Wagering submitted their collected signatures just under the wire for the December 20 deadline they were given to be able to put sports betting on the ballot in 2022.

This was originally something that the California Nations Indian Gaming Association was hoping to get done earlier this year but the Coronavirus Pandemic stopped them from retrieving more signatures for the original July 20 deadline.

However, the Tribes were heard when legislation to get sports betting on the 2020 ballot was pulled as it included commercial and Tribal sportsbooks under the measure and Tribes in California want exclusivity for the market.

Signature Submission Complete

Over 1.4 million signatures were submitted to get sports gambling into the Tribal casinos and racetracks in the state of California. Under the initiatives that would be placed for residents to vote on include legalizing roulette, craps, and other dice style gaming at casinos.

Of the 1.4 million signatures on the petition, 997,139 must be verified to land the issues on the ballot for November 2022. California requires an amendment to their constitution to add legal sports betting to their gaming industry or any other gaming not already listed within it.

Tribes are interested in expanding their offerings into more casino games and sports betting because they have said the industry for gaming in the Golden State is something that should be offered to residents in the best way possible.

And with their track record in the gambling business, they feel they are the best bet for Californians to have the greatest success for a sports wagering industry if it were to become legal.

“A strong, well-regulated gaming industry is of utmost importance to California’s tribal governments and the public,” said Steve Stallings, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association.

Now that the signatures are in, an executive order has allowed the counties up until March 9, 2021, to verify which are real and which are not before submitting them to the California State Legislature.

Should there be the number required by law to make voting on these constitutional amendments eligible, voters in California will be seeing three initiatives regarding sports wagering on their November 8, 2022 ballots. Two initiatives are for sports betting while one is a referendum to veto it.

The Future For Sports Betting In California

The Golden State last saw gambling-related topics on their ballots in 2014 with Proposition 48,  where it did not receive the majority vote, prohibiting the ratification of Tribal Gaming Compacts with the state and the North Fork Racheria of Mono Indians and the Wiyot Tribe.

Proposition 22 was supposed to go on the ballot in 2020 before the Coronavirus Pandemic stopped signatures from being collected. It raised $154.55 million to get the initiative moving.

This new petition for 2022 has raised $11.32 million, the Coalition to Authorize Regulated Sports Wagering reported on October 29. Californians will know by March 2021 whether they will see CA sports betting on their 2022 ballots.

News tags: California | California Nations Indian Gaming Association | California State Legislature | California’s Coalition to Authorize Sports Wagering | Coronavirus pandemic | COVID-19 | North Fork Racheria of Mono Indians | Proposition 22 | Proposition 48 | Steve Stallings | Wiyot Tribe