Jason Robins (CEO of DraftKings) and Amy Howe (CEO of FanDuel) took the stage at the Las Vegas G2E panel discussion to discuss the development. Both heads begrudgingly admitted that the optimism regarding voters supporting Proposition 27 had failed.
Thus, getting sports betting legalized in California within two years seems difficult. However, both CEOs were confident about the voters ultimately supporting the sports betting movement.
According to Robins, the more people learn about sports betting in California, the more they will learn about its pros and cons. Thus, the momentum will certainly shift toward its legalization. The year 2024 seems reasonable for this, but the CEO added the shift could come even before that.
While the CEOs were disappointed with Proposition 27’s failure, neither admitted any accountability for the collapse. The sportsbook providers have invested over 200 million dollars in supporting the bill via TV ad campaigns and other promotional events.
Robins believes the native tribes to be responsible for sharing misleading and false attacks against the proposition. The DraftKings Head stated that the opposition pouring over a hundred million dollars gave the bill a slim chance to succeed.
In addition, the proposition qualified for the November ballot, giving it a little over three months to persuade the voters.
While both points stand true, no one can deny that the sportsbook operators might have engineered the defeat themselves. A major reason behind labeling the sports betting measure as the California Solutions to “Homelessness & Mental Health Support Act.”
This title referenced the 10% tax on overall sportsbook income. In other words, a whopping 85% of the tax collections would go to mental healthcare and homeless initiatives. The rest of the revenue is to be delivered to non-gaming tribes.
Several reports suggested that over 53% of voters would reject the proposal. The surveys clearly showed that people were beware of the potential concerns generated by sports betting sites. The skepticism surged under the belief that sportsbooks will control the industry moderated by tribes since 2000.
Nonetheless, the operators still have not given up, meaning the state will likely witness another legalization attempt.
