California Sports Betting Updates October 2022

California sports betting has a slim chance of becoming legal soon.

It all depends on how things play out in November.

That’s when Californians will have the option to vote for two ballot measures: Prop 26, which would legalize in-person sports betting at Indian casinos and horse racetracks, and Prop 27, which would legalize online sports betting.

If both measures pass or Prop 27 passes, the California sports betting market would be massive. Think about it: With just under 40 million residents, California is by far the most populous state in the US. Texas, the second-biggest, has 10 million fewer residents. New York has the biggest sports gambling market right now, and it has 20 million fewer.

So, yes, you’d better believe US sportsbooks and California tribes are doing everything they can to own as much of that billion dollar market as possible. That’s why more than $440 million has been spent on the Prop 26 and Prop 27 campaigns, making it the most expensive ballot battle in California history.

However, prospects look gloom for both ballot measures — especially Prop 27. We’ll get into that later.

While they wait to see what happens in November, Californians can play California DFS apps and get familiar with what potential California sportsbook promos may come to their state.

Here’s what bettors need to know about the potential of sports betting in California, and Prop 26 and Prop 27:

California Sports Betting Updates

Oct. 4, 2022: A poll from University of California at Berkeley projects overwhelming defeat for Prop 26 and Prop 27. Of the poll’s 6,939 likely California voter respondents, only 31% favored Prop 26 and just 27% favored Prop 27.

Sept. 26, 2022: The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians made its fourth $25 million donation to No on 27. That brought their total donation amount up to above $103 million, which is nearly 25% of all Prop 26 and Prop 27 campaign funding. The San Manuel Band owns the largest of the tribal casinos in California, Yaamava’ Resort & Casino.

Sept. 21, 2022: Adam Krejcik, a national gambling expert and part of independent research firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, tweeted out that he believes both Prop 26 and Prop 27 will fail in the November election.

Sept. 20, 2022: The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Prop 27 was pulling its TV ads in major metropolitan areas and instead focusing on direct communication, such as online ads and mailers.

Sept. 15, 2022: A poll from the Public Policy Institute of California found that, among its 1,060 likely California voter respondents, 54% opposed Prop 27 and just 34% favored it.

Sept. 7, 2022: During a debate between Prop 26 and Prop 27 spokespeople, Yes on 26 spokesperson Kathy Fairbanks suggested compromise between tribes and sports betting companies could be on the table if both measures fail in the November 2022 election.

Is Sports Betting Legal in California?

No. Not currently. There’s a chance that changes in the November 2022 election, but even that feels unlikely.

Californians will most likely have to wait until the 2024 ballot to try to legalize sports betting again.

Until then, neighboring states Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona all offer legal sports betting, both retail and online. For much of California, those states are only a short drive away.

How Can I Bet on Sports in California?

If you want to stay in California, however, you can participate in the promotional sweepstakes app Fliff — which has the same feel as a real-money sportsbook, but it’s legal in California.

DFS is also alive and well in the Golden State. You can play daily fantasy sports at any number of quality DFS apps, including DraftKings DFS and FanDuel DFS.

There’s horse betting, too. You can do that in-person, off-track, or via any number of horse race betting apps. TVG Horse Racing, which recently rebranded as FanDuel TV, is your best bet.

Two Legal California Sports Betting Initiatives on the Ballot

On Nov. 8, Californians will have the option to vote for Prop 26 and Prop 27 to decide the immediate future of sports betting in California.

Prop 26: Tribal In-Person Sports Betting

In California, 58 tribes have publicly endorsed Prop 26. Notable other support comes from the NAACP and various local political and business organizations.

Beyond the sportsbooks, Prop 26’s main opposition comes from California card rooms and related entities.

Prop 27: Private Company Online Sports Betting

FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, PENN Gaming, Fanatics, Bally Bet, and WynnBET have exclusively funded the Yes on 27 campaign. Prop 27 also has support from MLB, certain homelessness organizations, and top lawmakers from cities hit especially hard by homelessness.

Three California tribes also have endorsed Prop 27.

Beyond most California tribes, Prop 27’s main opposition comes from both the California Democratic and Republican parties, as well as state education organizations such as the California Teachers Association.

What Sports Betting Site Can I Use in California?

We strongly advise against using unregulated offshore sites such as Bovada and BetUS. You put your money and personal information at risk any time you use one of those sites.

Instead, for Californians eager to bet on sports right now, we suggest Fliff.

Fliff is among the California promotional sweepstakes sites. That means you bet with two forms of fake digital currency, and you can redeem one of those types of fake digital currency for real cash prizes. Below you’ll find more info.

When Will Legal Sports Betting in California Launch?

If neither Prop 26 nor Prop 27 passes this November, then Californians will have to wait until 2024 to vote for the next round of sports betting ballot initiatives. Then, if one is passed, things wouldn’t get into gear until 2025.

If Prop 27 passes, its language stipulates the state will start accepting license applications no later than June 10, 2023, and online sports betting will launch no later than Aug. 29, 2023.

The timeline isn’t quite as clear with Prop 26. Tribes would have to renegotiate their gaming compacts to include sports wagering. Those amended compacts would then require approval from the California Legislature, the governor, and the US Department of the Interior.

The Prop 26 language does not list any specifics regarding retail sportsbooks at horse racetracks. But one can safely assume any process would receive direction and oversight from the California Gaming Control Commission.

All in all, Prop 26 would likely launch retail sportsbooks around the same time as Prop 27’s projected launch.

Predicted California Online Sportsbooks

We obviously don’t know which sites would come to California. We also don’t even know if Prop 27 will pass or not.

However, we can make confident educated guesses about which sports betting apps and sites would flock to California given the opportunity. For instance, DraftKings and FanDuel already operate DFS apps in California. They would be two logical candidates for a license.

Here is the full list of potential California sportsbooks:

Other Potential California Sportsbooks

Bally Bet Sportsbook California

Another young, smaller sportsbook, Bally Bet just had its biggest launch in New York on July 7. It’s now active in six states — Colorado, Iowa, Arizona, Indiana, and Virginia are the others. Bally Bet is one of the online sportsbooks to publicly back Prop 27 in California. It has donated $12.5 million to the Prop 27 campaign.

Fanatics Bet Sportsbook California

Fanatics is the only company signed onto Prop 27 that’s not a sportsbook. However, it has been in talks with Rush Street Interactive, which also owns BetRivers, and Betsson to acquire a sportsbook. Fanatics has donated $25 million to the Prop 27 campaign.

Barstool Sportsbook California

PENN Gaming, which partners with Barstool Sportsbook, backs Prop 27. It then makes sense that Barstool Sportsbook would try to establish itself in California. Barstool Sportsbook is currently active in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia. PENN Gaming has donated $25 million to the Prop 27 campaign.

WynnBET Sportsbook California

WynnBET has also publicly backed Prop 27 and will certainly try to get a license in California if the proposition passes this November. WynnBET is currently live in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, and Virginia. It has also donated $12.5 million to the Prop 27 campaign.

Unibet Sportsbook California

Unibet has been nowhere to be seen in the Prop 26 vs. Prop 27 debate. That’s probably because it already has a deal in place with the Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation to offer their retail and online sports betting in California if and when sports betting is ever legalized. And with Prop 26 looking more likely to pass than Prop 27, Unibet is in an enviable position to potentially launch quickly in California.

Betway Sportsbook California

Betway is another lesser-known sportsbook to watch if Prop 26 or Prop 27 passes in California. Why? Because it has locked in partnerships with the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Kings, and Golden State Warriors. Those relationships could be crucial if Betway needs to partner with a California tribe to offer either a retail or online sportsbook. Again, why? Because those tribes may also have partnerships with those teams via their casinos.

Projected California Sports Betting Market Size

As the most populous state, California could become one of the largest sports betting markets in the US. For example, the state of Nevada generates an estimated $9 billion in revenue annually. California Indian casinos already generate about an equal amount of revenue annually without having online or in-person sports betting.

Nevada generates about $450 million in revenue via sports betting. California, with its larger size and population, could potentially dwarf that amount if sports betting is legalized.

The Los Angeles Times reported that one 2019 study estimated illegal sports bets placed in California were worth $15.7 billion. Logic says a fully legal market would lead to a much higher California sports betting handle.

An August 2022 report published by Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, an independent research and consulting firm, projected sports betting revenue in California to reach $3.1 billion if both Prop 26 and Prop 27 pass. Even if only Prop 27 passes, the firm predicted annual would be $2.8 billion — a reflection of just how popular online sports betting is compared to retail sports betting across the US.

If the retail-only option is passed, experts estimate it would generate a $356 million in revenue in five years.

It’s a staggering amount of money that sportsbooks want to command large slices of. This projected market size is the reason sportsbooks have banded together to try to legalize online sports betting.

History of Sports Betting in California

Nevada legalized sports betting in 1949.

But, outside that state, California and the rest of the US had a bubbling ecosystem of illegal sports gambling, mainly run by organized crime.

Various pieces of legislation — the Federal Wire Act (1961), Travel Act of 1961, Interstate Transportation of Paraphernalia Act of 1961, Sports Bribery Act of 1964 — tried to curtain illegal sports gambling. But these were all bandaid efforts to get anything done.

Then, in 1992, the US Congress banned any state from legalizing sports betting with the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. In 2006, Congress went after online sports betting with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

However, on May 14, 2018, Congress repealed PASPA.

Since then, a whole lot has happened:

• May 2018: Assemblyman Adam Gray reintroduced a bill he’d first introduced in 2017 that would allow sports gambling if it was approved by voters in the election. It didn’t make it to the ballot.
• June 2018: A proposal known as the Gaming Fairness and Accountability Act was filed to the state’s Attorney General. The act was mainly focused on legalizing sports betting. But that didn’t work either.
• January 2020: A group of 18 California tribes began the process of collecting signatures to get a legal sports betting measure on the 2020 ballot. However, COVID-19 threw a wrench in those plans.
• May 2021: After being granted two extensions on their signature-gathering deadlines due to the pandemic, the tribes successfully got approval to be on the November 2022 ballot.
• August 2021: FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM began to spearhead effort to get online sports betting initiative on the November 2022 ballot.
• May 2022: The private company-led initiative got enough signatures to appear on the November 2022 ballot.
• May 2022-Present: More than $440 million has been received in support and opposition of Prop 26 and Prop 27, making it by far the most expensive ballot battle in California history. Neither measure is expected to pass in the election. Meanwhile, Massachusetts became the latest state to legalize sports betting in August.

California MLB Betting Odds and Updates

Los Angeles Dodgers Odds and Updates

The Dodgers just keep winning, and they just keep getting better and better World Series odds. FanDuel gives them the best odds to win the Fall Classic, at +290.

Entering Sept. 30, Los Angeles was 108-48. It had clinched the National League West division, and it led the Houston Astros (102-54) for the best record in MLB by six games. The Dodgers also had the best run differential in MLB, +325, and they were a staggering 90 runs better than the second-place New York Yankees at +235. That’s just ridiculous.

Los Angeles’ 108-48 record is good for a .692 winning percentage. Only 15 MLB teams since 1886 have finished with a win-loss percentage above .700. And only two of those teams have done it in a 162-game season: the 2001 Seattle Mariners (116-46) and the 1998 New York Yankees (114-48).

That 114-48 is the lowest record a team can have above .700. So, over their final eight games, the Dodgers would need to go 6-0 to eclipse .700. Is that possible with this team? Certainly. Is it likely to happen? Probably not. Oh well.

Los Angeles Angels Odds and Updates

The Angels are officially eliminated from playoff contention. So, yes, another year of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani’s illustrious careers has, in essence, gone to waste.

Entering Sept. 30, the Angels were 70-86, riding a four-game winning streak.

Ohtani is in a two-man race for American League MVP with Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, although it’s feeling like Judge is going to win. Entering Sept. 30, Ohtani was hitting .275 with 34 home runs and 94 RBI. As a pitcher, he was 15-8 with a 2.35 ERA and 212 strikeouts through 161 innings pitched. That’s a ridiculous 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings.

Trout entered Sept. 30 hitting .275 with 38 home runs and 78 RBI.

San Diego Padres Odds and Updates

Odds are all over the place for the Padres. While Caesars Sportsbook shortened their odds from +3500 to +2500 over the past week, FanDuek lengthened them from +3600 to +4100. Meanwhile, both DraftKings and BetMGM stood pat at +2800 and +3500, respectively.

*Shrugs*

San Diego, which currently has the 11th-best World Series futures odds, continues to be in the middle of an intense National League Wild Card race. Entering Sept. 30, the Padres were 86-70, having lost two straight. They were 2.5 games clear of the Philadelphia Phillies for the second Wild Card spot. The Milwaukee Brewers were just a half-game back of Philadelphia.

All of San Diego’s final six games of the season are at home.

San Francisco Giants Odds and Updates

Even though the Giants still have a mathematical chance of making the playoffs, they’re basically out of it. And now all sportsbooks are giving San Francisco their worst-possible odds, other than NA. Entering Sept. 30, San Francisco was 78-78, having won nine of its past 10 games.

But it’s just too little, too late. The Giants are 5.5 games behind the Phillies for the third and final NL Wild Card spot. Philadelphia has seven games left and San Francisco has six.

If the Giants win all their remaining games and the Phillies lose all of theirs, San Francisco would finish 84-78 and Philadelphia would finish 83-79 … but then you’re forgetting the Brewers, who sit between SF and Philly.

No matter how you slice it, the Giants have the slimmest of slim chances to play postseason baseball.

Oakland A’s Odds and Updates

The A’s are now eliminated from playoff contention, so sportsbooks no longer list them on their oddsboards.

Oakland entered Sept. 30 at 56-100. That’s the worst record in the American League and second-worst record in MLB, ahead of only the Washington Nationals (54-101) by 1.5 games.

California NFL Betting Odds and Updates

Los Angeles Rams Odds and Updates

The Rams handled the Arizona Cardinals 20-12 last Sunday to improve to 2-1. Their biggest movement came from BetMGM, which shortened LA’s odds from +1600 to +1400.

While the offense wasn’t humming the way it did last year, it did just enough to get past a struggling Arizona team. Matthew Stafford competed 18 of 25 passes for 249 yards. Cam Akers averaged 5.1 yards per carry and scored a touchdown. And the defense kept Kyler Murray mostly in check.

LA travels to San Francisco to play the 49ers on Monday Night Football next week.

Los Angeles Chargers Odds and Updates

The Chargers look a whole lot less potent with a hampered Justin Herbert behind center.

The superstar quarterback tried to play through fractured rib cartilage last Sunday, but clearly isn’t himself right now. Los Angeles lost 38-10 to the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday, and Herbert had a 39.5 QB rating.

As a result, Chargers odds lengthened across the board, including a +600 change on DraftKings and FanDuel.

The Chargers travel to play the Houston Texas this Sunday.

San Francisco 49ers Odds and Updates

The 49ers lost a not-so-thrilling game, 11-10, to the Denver Broncos on Sunday Night Football. It didn’t affect their odds too much, though, just lengthening by +500 at Caesars and staying the same everywhere else.

Jimmy Garoppolo completed 18 of 29 passes for 211 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

Next up for San Francisco: at home against the LA Rams on Monday Night Football.

California College Football Betting Odds and Updates

USC Football Odds and Updates

USC football looked pretty mediocre in a 17-14 win at Oregon State last Saturday. That caused its odds to lengthen by +400 at both DraftKings and FanDuel.

The Trojans still have the fifth-best odds for a College Football Playoff national title, but Michigan isn’t too far off.

USC has an excellent opportunity to right the ship a bit next Saturday against a reeling Arizona State program that just fired its head coach, Herm Edwards.

UCLA Odds and Updates

Welcome to the conversation, UCLA football. Do we think the Bruins will actually contend for a national championship in January? No. But their 4-0 start is impressive, and they are rising up oddsboards.

Their best odds right now are +125000 at BetMGM.

So far, UCLA has defeated Bowling Green, Alabama State, South Alabama, and Colorado, and it’s averaging 41.8 points per game. We get to see if the Bruins are legit soon, with three games against Washington, Utah, and Oregon over the next four weeks.

California Sports Betting FAQs