Californian tribes on warpath against pick'em games, DFS

The California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) are fairly happy with how things are in the gambling industry in the Golden State. They run land-based businesses and interactive wagering options have been kept at bay, including a now-mothballed attempt to put sports betting legalization to a vote during the November ballot.

Yet, CNIGA is not done. For one, the organization, chaired by James Siva, has now submitted a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta questioning the status of daily fantasy sports and arguing that pick’ em games are not unlike illegal sports gambling. It is right to seek clarity. CNIGA is a powerful association and part of the political, economic, and societal landscape in the state with 52 member tribes.

CNIGA may now be inclined to take on daily fantasy sports which have not been officially legalized in the state, but they have not been explicitly outlawed either. However, the association has a bigger bone to pick with pick’ em games. The letter submitted to the AG himself openly names companies such as Underdog Fantasy and PrizePicks and argues against their models.

The two aforementioned entitles, for example, seem to be offering players a chance to bet on the performance of individual players specifically rather than build fantasy teams and pit them against one another.

"First, participants of Pick’em Games are not managing a fantasy or simulation sports team, as is generally associated with competing in fantasy sports contests," Siva writes to Bonta in his letter.

The second argument presented is that sports fans who use the aforementioned platforms may bet on the performance of two athletes who are completely unrelated in terms of sports and may be competing in different disciplines altogether.

As to the status of DFS, CNIGA has recently seen that Bonta is moving quicker to thrash out the details and come up to a conclusion about their status – something that the association would welcome. In the meantime, sports gambling will not be legalized this year in California.

For its part, CNIGA wants to exert more control over the process and make sure that it also benefits from it. This means that the legalization of online sports betting will in all likelihood happen with the tribes' say-so.

The proposal by gambling industry veteran Kasey Thompson and blockchain pioneer and entrepreneur Reeve Collins has been withdrawn not least under pressure from CNIGA which believes that a misfire this year would significantly lower the odds of passing swift legislation when the time is right.

For clarity, Thompson and Collins' proposal to legalize sports gambling was trying to present sports betting as an option for a state referendum with the November ballot. CNIGA said it would not back and campaign against the proposal, forcing its backers to fold - at least for now.

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