‘Nobody knows who these people are.’ California AG reviews mystery sports betting initiatives

The California Attorney General’s Office is reviewing two proposed ballot initiatives that together would establish California’s tribes as the sole entities allowed to operate sports betting in the state, but the tribes don’t appear to be backing it.

The proposed initiatives, which were published on the AG’s website Friday, drew condemnation from the California Nations Indian Gaming Association. In a statement, the group said that it is “deeply disappointed that the sponsors of the two recently filed initiatives did not first reach out to the State’s largest tribal gaming association for consultation and input.”

Instead, the organization learned of the initiatives when they appeared online.

“Decisions driving the future of tribal governments should be made by tribal governments. While the sponsors of these initiatives may believe they know what is best for tribes, we encourage them to engage with Indian Country and ask, rather than dictate,” the statement said.

Victor Rocha, of the Pechanga Band of Indians and conference chairman of the Indian Gaming Association, was even more blunt in his response.

“This thing is so dead. Kasey Thompson & Ryan Tyler Walz are morons. You heard it here first,” Rocha wrote in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday.

While a Kasey Thompson is not listed as one of the proponents of the initiatives, Walz and Reeve Collins are.

“Nobody knows who these people are,” said Robert Linnehan, a sports betting regulation expert for the website Sports Betting Dime. “Nobody has any clue.”

A phone number associated with Collins did not respond to The Sacramento Bee’s media inquiries Monday. A voicemail greeting apparently recorded by Collins said that “these acts are designed to protect California tribes and California taxpayers who have seen their money go to offshore unregulated gaming sites.”

“These names ring no bells to me for the broader online sports betting industry,” said Geoff Zochodne, a sports betting industry expert for the website Covers.

A Google search of Walz reveals little, beyond that he was a plaintiff in a 2020 wrongful termination lawsuit against entertainment company Fever Labs.

The ballot initiative comes nearly a year after two ballot initiatives — Propositions 26 and 27 — failed spectacularly with California voters.

Prop 26, which would have legalized sports betting at tribal-owned casinos and horseracing tracks, got just 33% of the vote. Prop 27, which would have legalized online sports betting and which companies like FanDuel and DraftKings spent millions to promote, got even less, with just 17% of Californians voting yes.

“I would classify this as a long shot,” Zochodne told The Bee of the two new proposed initiatives.

As Linnehan and Zochodne both noted, these proposed initiatives, which appear designed to work together to grant tribes the exclusive purview over both retail and online sports betting, and which would require those wishing to bet online to register first in person at a tribal casino, are facing a “compressed timeline” for getting on the 2024 ballot.

While the state recommends that initiative proponents take six months to circulate petitions for signatures — it takes 874,641 signatures to get on the November 2024 ballot — these initiatives would have just four months to do so.

“Whoever submitted these, they’re getting a real late start,” Linnehan said.

As for where the money would come from to pay for signature collectors, campaign ads and more to get the initiatives passed, that remains unclear. Zochodne noted that neither the tribes, the online sports betting giants, nor the cardrooms appear to be behind these initiatives.

Linnehan said that the earliest one could expect one of those groups to pursue a new initiative would be 2026.

Still, Zochodne said that an attempt to get sports betting on the ballot in California shouldn’t be too surprising. The Golden State remains a massive untapped market, he said.

“While we’re surprised, it’s maybe not surprising,” he said.