Legalized sports betting is more prevalent than ever in the United States. Now that Missouri has joined the fold, nearly 40 states offer it in some form, on top of Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. Yet, perhaps the most lucrative sports betting market in the United States remains absent from the list.
We are talking, of course, about California.
Even as the industry takes a more ubiquitous hold, the future of California sports betting is arguably hazier than ever. Many experts once considered its legalization inevitable — and still do. Others, however, are not so sure, particularly given some recent developments.
Over the past seven years or so, there have been three flash-point moments for sports betting in The Golden State. Let’s break them all down and take a look at what they mean for California moving forward.
2018: The Overturning of PAPSA
Back in 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. This effectively allowed each individual state to decide the future of legal sports betting on their own.
The vast majority of the country has seized the opportunity to green light legal gambling. Of the remaining states without it, a handful have repeatedly proposed and discussed various pieces of legislation that would alter their gaming laws and allow sports betting.
California, on the other hand, has been relatively dormant in comparison.
While The Golden State pushed for legal sports betting in earnest ahead of the 2022 elections, this remains the only substantial attempt to put the issue in front of voters.
2022: California’s Failed Attempt to Legalize Sports Betting
Ahead of the 2022 election, two separate California sports betting bills made it on to the voter ballot. They were as follows:
- Proposition 26: This was a tribal-led initiative. It would have legalized sports betting exclusively for California tribal operators. Though tribal nations were open to online sportsbooks entering the market to help run their own digital operations, they vehemently pushed back against giving corporations independent licenses.
- Proposition 27: This was the corporate sportsbook-led legislation. If it passed, California would have offered both legal and online sports betting. Tribal nations would have still received licenses. The primary difference was that industry heavyweights like FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, etc.would have the chance to independently enter the market.
At the beginning of the campaigning process, polls initially showed that a large share of Californians were open to the idea of legalized sports betting. However, by the end of it all, public sentiment shifted dramatically.
Among 7.1 million residents who submitted a stance on Proposition 26, nearly 67 percent voted “no.” On the flip side, among 8.8 million Californians who cast a ballot on Proposition 27, an astounding 82.3 percent voted “no.”
Evaluations after the fact came to the conclusions that voters were confused and turned off by relentless counter-campaigning. Both sides of the aisle sought to undermine the other. Analysts at the time noted the issue of California sports betting had a long way to go before it could receive the stamp of approval.
2023 Through 2024: California Sports Betting Hits a Snag
The focus on California sports betting legalization reached a gridlock in the immediate years following 2022. Select parties attempted to get pieces of legislation put through, but they were neither associated with tribal nations nor corporate sportsbooks.
All the while, more states across the country joined the fold. Through it all, many maintained tribal nations and sportsbooks were merely taking a breather until they could get on the same page.
The silence in itself felt deafening. California sports betting projections began to get pushed back. Original timelines suggested it could be live by 2026. Now, everyone in the industry was wondering whether it’d happen by the start of the 2030s.
2025: Hints of Collaboration Between Tribes and Sportsbooks
While it did not happen right away, dialogue between California tribes and corporate sportsbooks started to ramp up following the 2022 sports betting flop. The largest strides were made during the first half of 2025.
Heads of corporate sportsbooks were coming out and point blank admitting that they erred back in 2022. These stakeholders stressed the importance of collaborating with the tribes and ultimately following their lead. Companies like DraftKings and FanDuel even appointed hires associated with the tribes to facilitate progress.
For quite some time, it looked like California sports betting legalization talkswould resume posthaste when the 2026 legislature meetings convened. Then, everything changed.
2026 and Beyond: California Sports Betting Outlook is Bleak
As we close 2025 and enter 2026, the progress made between tribal nations and sportsbooks appears to have disintegrated. Two major developments are at fault:
- Daily fantasy sports verdict: Around July 2025, the California Attorney General’s office deemed daily fantasy sports sites illegal. They argue that these operators provide a form of sports betting and are therefore violating the state’s constitution. This did not sit well with the myriad of sportsbooks who also provide daily fantasy services — namely DraftKings and FanDuel.
- The rise of prediction markets: The United States at large is currently witnessing the proliferation of sports prediction markets. Companies who provide them argue that they are “event-based contracts,” in which investors place money on a specified yes-or-now outcome.
“Will the Los Angeles Dodgers win the 2026 World Series?” would be one such example. Under this interpretation, prediction-market operators are subject to federal regulation rather than state oversight. That, in turn, means companies can provide services in states without a sports betting license.
The latter development may have been the nail in the coffin for harmony between tribes and sportsbooks.
Operators such as FanDuel and DraftKings are now launching their own sports prediction markets. It initially seemed as if they would abstain from bringing these services to California, in hopes that they could preserve the sports betting outlook. Now, however, it seems as if these sports prediction markets will be launching in The Golden State after all.
All of this essentially kills any chance of California sports betting getting legalized in 2026. Moreover, it complicates how it receives a green light in the future. Sportsbooks are no longer as incentivized to defer to tribes, thanks to prediction markets. That could make it tough for tribal nations to build up their own online sports betting business if it’s ever legalized.
Nobody quite knows where the issue will go from here. It certainly won’t fall by the wayside. Yet, at a time when the matter seemed to be gaining traction, it may instead be retreating back to where it was in 2022.
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