About the Author

Brant James

Brant James is a Senior Contributor with California Casinos, canvassing events and trends in the gambling industry. He has covered the American sports betting industry in the United States since before professional sports teams even knew what an official gaming partnership entailed. Before focusing on the gambling industry, James was a nationally acclaimed motorsports writer and a long-time member of the National Hockey League media corps, formerly writing for USA Today, ESPN, SI.com and the Tampa Bay Times.

CA-Based ALT Sports Data Makes Betting on Extreme Sports Possible

January 23, 2023 | By: Brant James

Todd Ballard and Joe Dunnigan set out to start an alternative sportsbook. They were assured it was an extremely bad idea. So they found an alternative to their extreme aspirations. Ballard, who spent nine years at GoPro, finishing as chief marketing officer, and Dunnigan, a former director of global brand strategy and marketing there with […]

San Manuel Band Leaders on Post-Prop 26 CA Sports Betting Landscape

December 27, 2022 | By: Brant James

HIGHLAND, Calif. — A month after a ballot proposition that would have brought California sports betting to tribal casinos in the state was trounced by voters, a sports bar that looks very much like a sportsbook minus some kiosks and ticket windows was sprinkled with afternoon patrons eating fries and drinking sodas as East Coast […]

Exclusive Q&A With Fliff CEO: We Weren’t Rooting Against Prop 27 in CA

November 28, 2022 | By: Brant James

The resounding failure of Prop 27 in California would seemingly have sent the founders of the Fliff social sports betting and sweepstakes app into a high-five loop. Voter rejection of a proposal to make mobile and online sports betting in California legal would, in theory, have stopped a movement that could have lured away a […]

Meet the California Players on the USMNT 2022 FIFA World Cup Roster

November 16, 2022 | By: Brant James

Four players from California made the final US Men’s National Team roster for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, tying New York for most. When the Americans open play 2 p.m. Monday against Wales, Aaron Long, Luca de la Torre, Cristian Roldan, and Haji Wright will pull on red, white, and blue with a […]

Prop 26 and Prop 27 Lost in California. So … Who Won?

November 8, 2022 | By: Brant James

California voters rejected both Prop 26 and Prop 27 on Tuesday, rebuking two distinctly different attempts to legalize sports betting in the state. Prop 26 would have allowed for retail sportsbooks at tribal casinos and the state’s four licensed horse racetracks. Prop 27 would have allowed national sports betting companies like BetMGM, DraftKings, or FanDuel […]

How the Prop 26 and Prop 27 Campaigns Failed So Badly in California

November 1, 2022 | By: Brant James

The proverbial blood was in the proverbial waters off Laguna Beach when Gov. Gavin Newsom finally took a side. Sure, the incumbent Democrat has previously expressed skepticism about the amount Prop 27 — a bill to legalize online sports betting in California and welcome in large national gambling companies — would actually help the homeless, […]

Gambling Expert: CA May Not Legalize Sports Betting for ‘5-10 Years’

October 26, 2022 | By: Brant James

Paul Martino is a Philly guy — Doylestown, actually. But he has a sense for the mood in California after spending 13 years in Silicon Valley as a tech and gambling entrepreneur. The managing partner of Bullpen Capital and early FanDuel investor doesn’t have to make any bold predictions about the dire forecasts for Prop […]

Keeping A’s in California Makes Sense for MLB’s Longterm Sports Betting Profits

October 12, 2022 | By: Brant James

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred wants a realigned 32-team “industry.” First, he said, at the Sports Business Journal World Congress of Sports, MLB needs to “get Oakland and Tampa resolved.” There’s plenty to resolve in both the Tampa and East Bays, with sub-standard ballparks and requisite attendance figures central to both unresolved situations. Oakland, […]

A New LA Startup Wants to Help Educate California Sports Bettors

October 11, 2022 | By: Brant James

Non-bettors want more sports betting education and more tools to make smart decisions before they make their first wagers. So concludes a survey commissioned by Los Angeles-based WagerWire and released to California Casinos today. The study, which was conducted by market research and analytics firm Leger, found that 78% of non-bettors said they were more […]