California Has Spent Record $364M on Sports Betting Ballot Measure Advertising

• Bloomberg Estimates CA Spent $364M on Ads for or Against Sports Betting Measure
• California Voters Will Vote on Props 26 and 27 at the November Elections
• A Legal Sports Betting Market in California Could Generate Much Needed Tax Revenue

Turns out advertising in California ain’t cheap, and those for and against the different sports betting ballot measures are discovering that fact the hard way, a record-breaking nine-figure lesson that cost $364 million, all to run commercial spots meant to sway the upcoming voters.

That’s according to the American weekly business magazine Bloomberg who just published a report that tracked the amount of ad spending that has been done in California regarding the issue of how a legal sports betting market might look there including mobile and retail options.

The general idea would be for California to join over thirty other states and Washington D.C. in legalizing, regulating, and taxing its own sports betting market, now allowable since the Supreme Court overturned PASPA back in May 2018 thereby giving states that right.

Of course, it’s not as easy as it might sound to create such a market, especially in heavily populated California where there are already compacts in place with the state’s native tribes, so two different measures are being pushed by separate interests: Prop 26 and Prop 27.

California Voters Will Vote on Props 26 and 27 at the November Elections

As we have reported in the past, the two Propositions at stake here represent either side of the argument, with Proposition 26 being backed by a coalition of California tribes and Prop 27 being backed by the outside sportsbook operators who hope to begin operating there.

If signed into law, Proposition 26 would restrict sports betting to the local casinos and four racetracks in order to keep that market in the hands of the native tribes who now run the legal gambling in that state, so voters who side with the existing market will no doubt vote this way.

As a law, Prop 27 would legalize mobile sports betting, and this would benefit the outside operators who would be running the online sportsbooks, this the option that the MLB has decided to back since it would be the best way for its teams and their owners to take advantage.

The hope is that this issue will get decided by California voters in November so that lawmakers could then begin to launch the type of market the residents prefer, but the longer this takes the more money that is lost, this market potentially worth billions of dollars.

A Legal Sports Betting Market in California Could Generate Much Needed Tax Revenue

What a successful sports betting market needs, California has, and that is people, with almost 40 million residents they are the most populous state in the union, and of that total odds have it that many of them are sports gamblers ready to legally partake in their favorite pastime.

That equates to big money for California, the same way it already has for New York state, which is home to ‘only’ 20 million residents and yet they are already leaders in that industry with regards to handle, total revenue, and tax revenue, all money that is benefitting those residents.

There are still two more months to go before the November elections, so California voters can still be swayed either way and they should expect to see plenty more commercials on the subject as both sides continue to pump ad money into the issue.