By several measures, the state of California is among the biggest in the US. It has the largest population of any state, the largest accumulation of wealth, and covers the third largest territory, behind only Alaska and Texas.

It has a media market that rivals that of New York, and not surprisingly, it is home to some of the biggest sports franchises on the planet.

From the LA Lakers to the LA Galaxy, California has representatives in all the major leagues, and when it comes to football, there are three storied Californian franchises with global name recognition: San Francisco 49ers, the LA Rams and the LA Chargers.

This combination of wealth, media coverage, sports tradition and a reputation for being one of the most liberal states in the country would suggest that California is an ideal location for a thriving sports betting sector. And yet, as the Chargers, Rams and 49ers battle through another NFL season, Californian NFL fans continue to be frustrated when it comes to NFL sports betting.

California sports betting bills and recent efforts

When the Supreme Court ruled back in May 2018 that states could decide for themselves whether to legalize sports betting in their territory, some states were more prepared than others to take advantage of the change in the legal landscape.

States such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania, which moved quickly to set up their legal sectors, were soon surging ahead, earning millions in tax revenue. Some of the other major states, such as Illinois and New York, took a little longer but got there in the end.

Yet, California was left behind, and the story of the last five years has been one of failure, culminating in an acrimonious and unsuccessful attempt to legalize via statewide ballot.

To be fair to legislators in California, there were early attempts to introduce legalization. In fact, State Assemblyman Adam Gray introduced a placeholder constitutional amendment to legalize as early as 2017. When the Supreme Court made its momentous decision, Gray reintroduced his amendment but this failed, as did an attempt to get sports betting legalization on the 2020 statewide ballot.

The following year, Gray tried again with ACA 16, while there was a parallel legislative push by Bill Dodd in the Senate. Later in 2019, a group of Californian tribes launched a petition to get sports betting on the ballot, although their proposal focused on legalizing sports betting in casinos on tribal land and made no mention of online or mobile betting.

The Covid 19 pandemic interrupted progress and led to Senator Dodd withdrawing his bill, but after a long delay, the tribes were able to get their proposal onto the 2022 ballot. But the seeds of division were sewn in 2021 when two more initiatives, one by four Californian cities and another larger proposal from sports betting industry giants, were launched.

Eventually, two propositions made it onto the 2022 ballot: Proposition 26 that would legalize sports betting only at casinos on tribal land, and Proposition 27, which would allow for only statewide mobile sports betting. After months of arguments, hearings, legal battles and hostile campaign ads, both propositions were voted down, and as 2023 dawned, California still had no legal sports betting.

What’s happening with California sports betting right now?

Undeterred, pro-sports betting campaigners within the state are pushing for legalization once again, this time in the form of initiatives from the Pala Band of Mission Indians and Pala Interactive, the online gaming brand that they launched in 2013.

Two propositions have been registered for inclusion in the next statewide ballot, which will be held on November 5, 2024. The first of these allows for legal sports betting, both in-person and online, with a percentage of gambling revenue to go to a fund to tackle homelessness and mental health problems in California. The second proposition would confirm that sports betting in California would be exclusively under the control of the tribes.

California sports betting: when will it be legal?

Although both initiatives offer hope that there will be progress towards legal sports betting in California, there are ominous signs. The Indian Gaming Association and the Californian Indian Gaming Association have both criticized the proposals and claimed that they were not consulted.

Avoiding the acrimony associated with the November 2022 ballot, which led to official opposition by both Republican and Democrat politicians in the state, will be key to securing legal sports betting in California. That means tribal and corporate interests resolving the key problem that has derailed and delayed sports betting in other states: who gets to control sports betting?

Yet politicians and voters in California have already demonstrated that they are prepared to vote down initiatives that they feel are not right for California. At this stage, prospects of securing legalization through the 2024 ballot seem unlikely, which means that sports betting may not become a reality in the state until 2027 or later.

Top projected online sportsbooks

As seen with other states, sports betting companies are geared to move quickly when sports betting becomes legal in a territory, and in the case of California, there would be huge interest from sportsbooks hoping to gain access to the massive Californian market.

The list of sportsbooks that might eventually operate in California would depend on the number of licenses available and whether they would be able to offer betting directly to customers or through agreements to offer retail sports betting at tribal venues, but the following sportsbooks are likely to be taking a keen interest in developments in the California market:

BetMGM

A betting brand with global name recognition, BetMGM is linked to the famous MGM Resorts International and the MGM Grand casino in Las Vegas. It was launched in 2018 through a partnership with sports betting brand GVC Holdings and was initially focused on retail sports betting. It has since branched out into online sports betting and operates in the legal sports betting markets of 23 states, including neighboring Arizona and Nevada.

DraftKings

One of the two major Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) brands in the US, DraftKings has developed into a big player in the sports betting sector, and maintains both DFS and sports betting products. Its DFS platform is available in 45 states, while it operates in 22 legal sports betting markets, including Oregon, where it is the monopoly online sports betting provider.

FanDuel

The older of the two big DFS providers, FanDuel has been overtaken in the DFS industry by DraftKings but it retains strong name recognition and is a major force in sports betting. It operates in 20 states around the US and along with DraftKings and Caesars is one of three sportsbooks named as official betting partners of the NFL in 2021.

Caesars

The biggest casino brand in the US, Caesars owns 50 casinos across the country, including eight in Las Vegas alone, and it has taken that expertise into the sports betting sector. There are Caesars sports betting operations in 21 states and the company has close ties with the NFL, having signed deals with seven NFL franchises, including the Las Vegas Raiders.

BetRivers

BetRivers was launched in Pennsylvania through a partnership between the Rivers Casino and Rush Street Interactive. Although it has not yet matched the big guns of the US sports betting sector for nationwide coverage, it is active in 14 states and is a fast-growing betting brand.

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