Online Sports Betting

Let Native American tribes and other entities offer sports betting.

Background

Prop 27 covers similar territory to Prop 26, though it allows online sports betting in more places and levies more fees and taxes. Accordingly, the Legislative Analyst Office estimates that it would raise significantly more revenue than Prop 26:

Increased state revenues, possibly in the hundreds of millions of dollars but not likely to exceed $500 million annually. Some revenues would support state regulatory costs, possibly reaching the mid-tens of millions of dollars annually.

85% of the revenues would fund state housing and mental health programs, and the remaining 15% would go to federally recognized tribes in California that do not offer online sports betting.

Decision

Props 26 and 27 compete, so if they both pass, the one with the most votes would take effect. I prefer Prop 26’s flexibility by directing revenues to the state general fund, but Prop 27’s greater permissiveness and fees generate more economic activity and revenue for government services. If I could rank them, I would favor Prop 27 over Prop 26, but either would improve upon the prohibitionist status quo, so I recommend voting yes on both.