California tribes, cities share different sports-betting views

When California voters spell to the polls adjacent year, they volition person a determination to marque connected what sports wagering successful the Golden State volition look similar successful the years to come.

An inaugural from 4 Indian tribes with casinos successful the authorities has received the requisite fig of signatures connected petitions and has qualified to spell earlier voters successful 14 months connected Nov. 8, 2022.

Meanwhile, a competing inaugural from a radical calling itself the California Cities Gaming Authority is getting acceptable to commencement its ain petition drive. A spokesperson for the radical said it’s astir 2 months from being connected the thoroughfare successful a petition thrust that indispensable beryllium completed wrong six months.

The cardinal selling constituent for the cities inaugural is that gross generated from taxes connected sports wagering would spell toward backing programs that combat homelessness successful California. But it besides boils down to who volition power gaming successful the state.

The tribal gaming inaugural bypassed immoderate imaginable sports-betting outlets — city-regulated paper rooms wherever customers tin play blackjack, three-card poker, baccarat and pai gow. Instead, the tribes person projected that sports betting and immoderate different games beryllium allowed successful tribal casinos with sports betting allowed astatine 4 horse-racing tracks: Santa Anita Park, Del Mar Racetrack, Los Alamitos Race Course and Golden Gate Fields.

The California Cities Gaming Authority is drafting a competing gaming inaugural that volition necessitate a fiscal investigation by the state’s lawyer wide earlier supporters tin commencement circulating petitions. The enactment cited a “profound disparity” betwixt the 2 initiatives and said that it wants the nationalist to get down the cities’ gaming inaugural alternatively of the 1 enactment distant by the tribes.

“The Cities Gaming Initiative opens sports wagering to each entity licensed to behaviour gaming successful California including Indian tribes and to each nonrecreational sports teams seeking to behaviour sports wagering straight oregon via the internet,” said Jimmy Gutierrez, wide counsel of the authority.

There are respective different differences betwixt the tribal and metropolis initiatives:

■ Will the nationalist benefit? The Cities Gaming Initiative would nonstop 25 percent of the gross receipts generated from sports betting to spell to the state’s wide fund, wherever the California Legislature would beryllium required to walk it connected homelessness issues, affordable housing, nationalist acquisition and intelligence health. Another 1 percent, up to $10 million, and each licensing fees would spell toward responsible-gambling programs. The tribal inaugural offers nary taxation travel to the state.

■ Who are the vendors? The tribal inaugural would see each California tribal casinos and the 4 racetracks. The cities’ program would alteration sports betting astatine the tribal casinos, the equine tracks, the paper rooms, venues of nonrecreational sports teams and to online oregon mobile sports wagering operators.

■ What further gaming is offered? The tribes’ inaugural would grow gaming astatine tribal casinos to see “roulette and games played with dice,” presumably craps. It besides would not lone let gambling connected tribal reservations but besides connected onshore tribes bargain oregon rent successful and astir cities. That means a people could get onshore adjacent existing paper rooms and connection games the paper clubs wouldn’t beryllium allowed to offer.

“The tribal gaming inaugural gives Indian tribes powers capable to thrust paper rooms retired of concern by establishing Indian casinos connected non-tribal lands successful the cities that licence paper rooms,” Gutierrez said. “Card rooms cannot vie with Indian casinos that connection sports wagering, slot machines, craps, roulette, non-banked paper games specified arsenic blackjack and lotteries. When paper rooms spell retired of business, metropolis services to residents are canceled oregon reduced drastically.”

Representatives of the cities’ gaming authorization person plentifulness of clip to marque their lawsuit to California voters, and there’s besides plentifulness of clip for much governmental play to unfold.

Maybe someday soon determination volition beryllium an reply to 1 of the unanswered questions I had: If the cities get their inaugural qualified, what happens if some initiatives pass?

Contact Richard N. Velotta astatine rvelotta@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta connected Twitter.