California tribe informs sports betting supporters of Knicks proposal
The California National Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) is calling on supporters of recently submitted sports betting proposals to halt those plans.
In a letter sent Friday to executives at Eagle1 Acquisitions Corp., LLC, CNIGA and 28 other tribes called on Kasey Thompson, Reeve Collins and Ryan Tyler Walz to repeal the Sports Betting Regulations and the Tribal Gaming Protection Act. The request comes before Jan. 2, when the group can begin collecting signatures to put the initiative on the 2024 ballot.
We hereby inform you that more than half of California’s tribal nations express strong opposition to these radical proposals masquerading as tribal initiatives. Here, too, we hope you keep your word and call on you to abandon these proposals immediately. ” CNIGA wrote in the letter.
Proposals for the Sports Betting Regulations and Tribal Gambling Protection Act were introduced on October 27. Tribal opposition to the plan has since been fierce, with California tribal casino operators saying they were not informed of the document before it became public.
California tribal heavyweights reject sports betting plan
Signatories of the CNIGA letter include the Agua Calienta, Barona, Graton Rancheria, Rincon and San Manuel tribes .
Not only are these tribal nations the operators of some of the largest and highest-grossing tribal casinos in California, but these tribal nations have spent a combined $220 million in 2022 to defeat Prop. 27 - a program promoted by commercial gaming companies Supported by sports betting proposal. This ballot initiative, along with those supported by the tribe, were roundly rejected by Golden State voters.
In the letter, CNIG pledged to oppose the Sports Betting Regulations and the Tribal Gaming Protection Act as aggressively as it did to repeal Proposition 27.
“There is an aggressive campaign underway against these reckless moves — like those in 2022 that resulted in 82% voting no — that undermine potentially legal efforts to responsibly authorize sports betting in California. "Tribal governments will not allow our legal and strictly regulated operations to be used to support schemes designed to reward these illegal offshore online gambling companies," CNIGA added.
Sports betting in California unlikely to happen anytime soon
Following the defeats of the 26th and 27th Houses in 2022, California tribes believe 2024 is not the time to put the issue back before voters. The data backs up this statement, as recent polls show that voters in the largest states don’t want to talk about sports betting again next year.
Tribes won’t consider sports betting an issue until 2026 at the earliest, and mobile betting even further away. One thing is clear: Tribes control the California landscape. Voters in the state largely support that status and tribal sovereignty — which stands to benefit tribes as they try to defeat the new sports betting phenomenon.
"Your initiative is a cynical and fraudulent attempt to hijack the tribal goodwill they have earned and maintained with the people of California over decades for personal gain," CNIGA concluded. "According to their own media interviews, these The ballot measure seeks to clean up illegal offshore online gambling companies that have an appalling record of illegal gambling, money laundering and other illegal activities.”
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Source: www.casino.org
