This Week in Gambling: The California sports betting battle

California stands as the "crown jewel" of American gambling. Online poker has failed there for years, and the battle for California sports betting is now heating up between legislators and Tribal Gaming. We also look at new casino closures in Nevada, update the Justice Department online gambling case, and have sad news to report from Las Vegas.

A Superior Court judge made official his tentative ruling to allow a coalition of federally-recognized tribes 90 more days to collect signatures for a legal California sports betting initiative that would go on the November 2022 ballot. The tribes sought an extension due to the COVID-19 restrictions in place in the state.

Judge James P. Arguelles said he will “reissue the tentative (ruling) and call it the final ruling,” and left open the door for the tribes or the Secretary of State’s office to come back to court should “conditions change.”

California’s Indian Country wants to let voters decide whether to allow California sports betting on tribal gaming properties. Their proposal would allow for in-person sports betting only at tribal casinos and horse racetracks but exclude online sports betting.



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