Recognizing the opportunity in online sports betting, the tribes collaborated with the governor’s office to pass legislation creating three online “skins” (i.e., the number of unique brands allowed under each individual gaming license): one for FanDuel, which partnered with the Mohegan Tribe one for DraftKings, which partnered with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (who run Foxwoods) and one for the Connecticut Lottery. Take Connecticut, where tribes own the immensely popular Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods resort casinos. In fact, as they surely knew, having two similar initiatives on the ballot tends to spell failure for both.įortunately, lessons from other states and previous California ballot initiatives can serve as a guide for bringing these two powerful interests - tribal casino operators and sports betting operators - together to make online sports betting in California a reality. For the tribes, the defeat of Prop 27, which they feared would significantly dilute their power and revenue, was far more important.
In contrast, the California Democratic Party remained neutral and the governor silent on the tribes-backed Prop 26, which would have legalized in-person sports betting at tribal casinos and four private horse race tracks.
