DraftKings, Others Push Sports Betting Initiative in CA Under Guise of Helping Homeless

Major gambling players intend to ante up $100 million for an online sports betting initiative that would fund homelessness and mental health efforts, according to a report filed by Politico.

Proponents told POLITICO they will file the “California Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support Act" today with the state attorney general's office.

DraftKings and FanDuel anticipate setting up a campaign committee by today. Such a ballot measure would be the first in the US to dedicate a permanent revenue stream for homelessness and mental health programs.

Nearly two dozens states have legalized sports wagering following a 2018 Supreme Court ruling.  Most states have had to amend their own laws in order to override prior prohibitive measures.

Joe Brennan, Jr. was among those who worked with former New Jersey state Senator Ray Lesniak in getting the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 abolished, thus ushering in the era of legalized sports wagering across the USA. 

Brennan, Jr.(pictured) tweeted out his disgust over the latest effort in California.

"Let me say this as loudly as possible: using society’s needy & less fortunate as cover for your gambling land grab is disgraceful. Brennan Jr. Stand on your own merits. This cynicism is disgusting."

“Permanent solutions require a permanent funding source. The California Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support Act will raise hundreds of millions of dollars annually to fight homelessness and expand mental health support in California by allowing regulated entities to offer safe, responsible sports betting online," campaign manager Dana Williamson told POLITICO in a statement.

But it is quick to see just how convoluted this whole process is likely to become.

There is already a sports betting bill heading to the ballot supported by the state's influential tribes.  That initiative would allow for in-person sports betting at tribal casinos and racetracks.

Williamson referred to the new effort as "complimentary" to what the tribes are introducing.

“Any online sports betting operator seeking to participate in the California marketplace must do so by partnering with a California tribe," Williamson said, noting that “a portion of the measure’s revenue is dedicated to uplifting Tribal communities."

Enter the card rooms, which have already spent $450,000 to pass a rival proposition giving them a piece of the pie. Tribes and card rooms have long battled over gambling revenue and turf.

From Politico:

With three separate proposals potentially headed to the ballot, the issue could be resolved next summer in the state Capitol. Lawmakers could craft a compromise measure that would prompt tribes, card rooms, race tracks and the sports betting giants to withdraw their proposals before next fall. But the interest groups have tried for years to get their own versions of bills through the Legislature without success.

It was not immediately clear how the new proposal would divvy up revenues between mental health services, homelessness and tribes that affiliate with online gambling firms.

The US sports betting market generated $1 billion in revenue in 2020, “and that number is projected to grow sixfold by 2023," according to Forbes.

California represents the 6th largest economy in the world.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com