Despite being an MLS hotspot, soccer fans in California are currently unable to place bets on the sport.
This is because all sports betting is still illegal in The Golden State.
It’s a strange situation because ‘Cali’ is absolutely full of top sports teams from the worlds of American Football, Ice Hockey, Baseball, Basketball, and Soccer. So the population is clearly sports mad, but betting on it is not allowed.
One thing is for sure though, there is plenty of money in California. This is why there have been attempts to get MLS betting legalised there, it’s just a case of working out what that looks like before getting it across the line.
The barrier isn’t so much anti-gambling sentiment, but rather who gets what sized slice of the pie.
Gambling History
The first significant form of betting legislation in the Golden State was The California Horse Racing Act of 1933. This allowed pari-mutuel betting on horse racing at racecourses. Back then of course there was not really any other way to do it.
Before this, any kind of sports betting would have been done either illegally and/or informally. Bookmakers may well have existed in the shadows, but they will have been small operations with zero protection for the person making the bets.
Fast forward to 1988, and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act paved the way for Proposition 5 which was passed in 1998. The 1988 act allowed tribes to operate casinos on their lands if they negotiated compacts with the state, and this is exactly what happened. Tribal casinos were opened, giving them a voice in any future gambling related conversation.
Indeed, the state explored different ways to expand the local betting industry throughout the 2000s as a way of increasing state revenue through taxes, but federal law always got in the way. So when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) with its ruling in Murphy v. NCAA, many Californians thought sports betting would open up.
That was in 2018, but California had problems that other states didn’t have to deal with, and of their own making too.
Proposition 26 and 27
In November of 2022, proposition 26 and proposition 27 appeared on the ballot.
Prop 26 aimed to legalize in-person sports betting at tribal casinos and horse racing tracks. It was put forward by a coalition of Native Indian tribes, and would have allowed sports betting on-site but did not address online or mobile sports betting.
Prop 27 was put forward by a coalition of online sports betting companies like FanDuel and DraftKings, looking to legalize online sports betting in the state. It would have allowed any company with a license to operate a sportsbook via a website or app, but did not deal with in person betting. It more or less cut the tribes out in truth.
Obviously, both parties were only thinking of their own fortunes, and they took issue with each other.
Both propositions had support from consumer groups as well as objections from anti-gambling activists, but on the whole, each proposition’s biggest enemy was the other. The tribes didn’t like prop 27 because it would undermine their control over gambling in the state and they liked having exclusivity, and the online bookmakers didn’t like prop 26 because it didn’t allow them in on the action.
In the end, this competition diluted support on both sides, so neither proposition was passed. In fact, Prop 27 got just 16% of the vote, while Prop 26 fell to a less embarrassing defeat.
When Will Sports Betting be Legalized?
Cali is one of just 12 states where sports betting is still illegal.
But as we know, this isn’t from any moral standpoint, but because so much legal power lies with the tribes. Really then, it is down to them as to when sports betting becomes available in California.
Since their failed attempt to expand their interests in 2022 they have had time to rethink their approach, but it is they that hold more of the cards, not the sportsbooks. Had the bookmakers been more willing to work with the tribes the issue may have been resolved the first time around, but any future negotiations will have to be done with less arrogance on their part.
Nothing is going to be legalized without the support of the tribes, and the tribes have been busy.
According to reports, a coalition of tribes are planning to try to introduce sports betting on their lands again by 2026, with online betting to follow in 2028. Not much is known about this at the moment, but if it does end up on the ballot it will be much more likely to pass now they have factored in the online aspect. Although it could be voted down again, and if that happens there will be another 4-6 year wait I should expect.
Whether they team up with an established sportsbook to provide the online element or try to go it alone is another matter, but if the bookmakers are not involved in some way you can bet they will do what they can to block any future proposition.
Which MLS Teams are in Florida?
California is the biggest state in the whole of the US for MLS.
There are 3 MLS teams in Florida currently, with San Diego FC due to join the league as an expansion team in 2025 to make it 4. It’s the busiest state for top-flight soccer in the country, bar none.
LA Galaxy is MLS’ second most popular club after Inter Miami, but for a long time it claimed the top spot. This is in part thanks to their association with David Beckham, but also because they are one of the founding and most successful clubs in the league.
Galaxy won 5 MLS Cups and came runner up on 4 more occasions, and although they haven’t had much success since 2014, their legacy lives on. Their signing of players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Javier Hernandez has kept the club in the spotlight even though they haven’t been challenging for trophies, and their average attendance remains consistent.
Los Angeles FC are often seen as the poor cousin to LA Galaxy based on fame, being based in the same city and all, but they have been much more successful since they were founded in 2018. They hit the ground running with the best regular season record in the league in 2019, a feat they achieved again in 2022 when they also went on to win the MLS Cup.
They aren’t as popular as Galaxy, with whom they have a fierce rivalry, but they do have plenty of support. LAFC likely picked up a lot of Chivas supporters since the club was essentially founded to replace them after they went bust, but signing players like Gareth Bale and club legend Carlos Vela can’t have hurt either.
Last up we have the San Jose Earthquakes, representing North California, or NorCal. The Earthquakes are a much older club than the other two, having existed way back in the 1970s when the North American Soccer League was still in operation – George Best even played for them in 1980 and ’81. Technically that was a different club, as there was no team between 1989 and 1995, but when MLS was founded San Jose Earthquakes were back in action as an original member of the league.
They too did better in the early days than they have recently, winning the MLS Cup twice in 2001 and 2003, with 2012 being their most successful season since then. The Earthquakes have struggled for support in the past, and although things could still be better, they are looking healthier than they ever used to.