“Given the deadlines for getting a measure on the November ballot and the impact of COVID-19 on the public’s ability to weigh in, we were not able to get the bill across the finish line this year,” Senator Dodd said.
“It remains important that we lift this widespread practice out of the shadows to make it safer and to generate money for the people of California. I will continue to be engaged in the issue as we work toward 2022,” he added.
The legislation was introduced in response to a 2018 US Supreme Court ruling that overturned the federal ban on sports betting. The decision did not automatically legalize sports wagering nationwide, but permitted the activity to be regulated on a state-by-state basis. Nearly two-dozen states have legalised sports wagering, and a majority of the remaining states are considering legislation.
Senator Dodd’s bill would have put the question of legalising and regulating sports wagering to the voters on the November 2020 General Election ballot. Dodd and Assembly member Gray chair their chambers’ respective Governmental Organisation committees, which oversee gaming regulation, among other things.
In California, legalisation was expected to generate up to US$700m a year in tax revenue to help minimise cuts threatened by the expected budget deficit.
Source: GMB / G3 Newswire
