Sports Gambling

Over the last 4 years, laws legalizing sports and other online wagering have proliferated across the country.  Today more than thirty states have adopted laws legalizing gambling on sports within their borders, most often allowing wagers to be placed online, while six states allow full casino gambling (including slots, blackjack, and roulette) to be played online or on your favorite mobile device. Other states (including California) are considering such legalization.  But there are important hurdles, especially in California and Florida – most notably, state constitutional prohibitions on the expansion of legal gambling.  But that does not mean that just anyone can open up a storefront, throw-up a website, or publish a mobile app, and start taking bets online; these operations are subject to strict regulatory and practical limitations, under both state and federal law. This program will focus on the continued impacts of federal laws (including most notably the Wire Act and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (“UIGEA”), and the state legal foundations required to bring legal sports or other online wagering into a given state.  Focusing specifically on California, this program will also explore two propositions on the November 2022 ballot – Proposition 26 and Proposition 27 – that would each legalize some forms of sports wagering in the Golden State, and will explain the similarities and differences, why proponents and opponents support each, and offer some insights on what would happen depending on the outcome of the votes on November 8^th.