Gambling on the ballot: Competing sports betting plans duke it out for California voters' favor
Measures on the ballot in California would allow in-person gambling at horse race tracks and Native American casinos and would legalize online sports betting.
TEMECULA, Calif. — The Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams kick off the 2022 NFL season Thursday night by hosting the Buffalo Bills, and not one dollar in legal sports betting will exchange hands here in the country's most populous state.
But by this time next year, that could all change, depending on the outcome of two competing measures on California ballots in November.
For state residents, the next two months are shaping up to be a barrage of ads supporting or opposing Proposition 26, which would allow in-person sports gambling, and Proposition 27, which would legalize online betting for sports.
The gaming industry is eager for one or both of the measures to pass, which would bring California into the fold with New York, New Jersey and the 29 other states that have legalized sports betting.
“It’s a big deal just because of the size of the market,” said Casey Clark, a senior vice president of the American Gaming Association.
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