California
California sports betting initiative backed by FanDuel, DraftKings would block small competitors
In abstract
Of the completely different efforts to legalize sports activities betting in California, one would require over $100 million in charges — a transfer consultants say limits competitors in what’s forecasted to be a multi-billion greenback business.
One of many measures Californians will possible get to vote on this fall does extra than simply permit betting on sports activities: Critics are involved it can successfully block smaller gaming corporations and startups from working within the state.
These are excessive stakes for an business that might rake in over $3.5 billion annually from California bettors — and for a state that prefers to see itself because the startup capital of the world.
Of the 4 sports activities betting initiatives competing to make November’s poll, one, paid for by on-line sports activities betting giants FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM, would permit gaming corporations and Native American tribes to offer sports activities betting on-line throughout the state.
However embedded within the initiative are necessities that might be very troublesome — if not unattainable — for the businesses’ smaller rivals to fulfill, consultants say.
If the initiative passes, gaming corporations must pay a $100 million licensing charge to do enterprise within the state, in addition to already be licensed in 10 states, or be working in 5 states and operating 12 casinos.
“I believe it’s absolute nonsense,” stated John Holden, a professor at Oklahoma State College who research sports activities playing coverage. “I believe what’s successfully taking place is, mainly, the 5 to 10 frontrunners out there have determined ‘Alright, let’s be sure that there’s nobody else who can compete by agreeing to pay these exorbitant license charges.’”
The $100 million charge, Holden stated, primarily ensures no startups will be capable of function in California.
The charge is a technique the measure generates “vital income to fund homelessness housing and psychological well being therapy and supply monetary assist for California Tribal nations,” Nathan Click on, a spokesperson for the initiative’s marketing campaign, wrote in a press release.
“California is finest served by making a protected and tightly regulated sports activities betting market, one the place prospects can know they’re working with skilled platforms with a confirmed observe document of protected and accountable operation in different markets,” Click on wrote.
FanDuel and BetMGM didn’t reply to CalMatters’ request for an interview. DraftKings directed CalMatters’ interview request to Click on, the marketing campaign spokesperson.
Right here’s what the initiative does
The initiative backed by sports activities betting corporations would:
- Permit adults 21 or older to wager on sports activities occasions on-line, in addition to on some non-athletic occasions like awards reveals and video-game competitions, outdoors of Native American lands
- Allow tribes to supply on-line sports activities betting below the tribe’s identify and branding. Tribes must pay a one-time $10 million licensing charge to the state and $1 million renewal charge each 5 years
- Permit gaming corporations comparable to Fanduel and DraftKings to supply on-line sports activities betting in the event that they strike a cope with a tribe to entry the California market, pay a one-time licensing charge of $100 million plus a $10 million renewal charge each 5 years, and they’re additionally licensed to function in 10 states (or are licensed to function in 5 states and function 12 casinos)
- Create a brand new division inside the state’s Justice Division to control on-line sports activities wagering
- Impose a ten% tax on all corporations or tribes providing sports activities betting. After masking the state’s regulatory prices, many of the income from the tax and the licensing charges can be used to handle homelessness and create interim and everlasting housing. Of the funds, 15% would go to Native American tribes that aren’t concerned in on-line sports activities betting.
The state’s Legislative Analyst’s Workplace wrote in its evaluation of the measure that it’s unsure how a lot cash the brand new taxes and charges would generate for the state, however it may attain the mid-hundreds of hundreds of thousands per yr.
The measure hasn’t certified for the poll but — it’s nonetheless gathering signatures. However Click on, the spokesperson for the marketing campaign, stated the measure is effectively forward of the place it must be to qualify.
Different measures that legalize sports activities betting may make the poll — or are already eligible. One, backed by a coalition of tribes, would permit sports activities betting at tribal casinos and 4 horse race tracks solely, whereas one other, backed by a separate coalition of tribes, would permit tribes to supply on-line and in-person sports activities betting completely. Native American tribes have lengthy had the unique proper to supply sure types of playing in California. Many tribes are campaigning towards the gaming corporations’ initiative arguing, amongst different issues, that it might threaten tribes’ sovereignty and self-reliance.
If one of many initiatives passes, California would change into one among over 30 states to legalize betting on sports activities. The business may generate $3.57 billion per yr in web income for entities providing sports activities betting to individuals in California if on-line and in-person betting is legalized and lots of corporations are capable of function, based on projections from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming LLC, a analysis agency. That’s bigger than the agency’s projections for Texas, New York, or Florida.
A lot for the sports activities betting startups
The $100 million licensing charge is far greater than what another state has on the books, stated Becca Giden, director of coverage for Eilers & Krejcik. Now, New York’s $25 million licensing charge is the best, she stated. Most states which have legalized sports activities betting have licensing charges within the low single-digit hundreds of thousands or lots of of 1000’s — and no different state requires corporations to already be licensed in different states, based on Giden.
The requirement that an organization already be licensed in 10 states would reduce off smaller corporations and startups which might be solely licensed in just a few states, Giden stated. That, mixed with the charge, would “meaningfully restrict the flexibility of small corporations and startups” to take part out there, she stated.
Early-stage startups that get cash from enterprise capitalists usually increase round $5 million to $20 million of their first spherical, stated Olav Sorenson, a sociologist at UCLA’s Anderson Faculty of Administration who research entrepreneurship. However solely about 1 out of each 100 startups get any enterprise capital cash, Sorenson stated. If you embody startups that depend on bank card loans and different sources of funds, the amount of cash new corporations have at their disposal shrinks.
“Very, only a few startups would be capable of afford that form of charge,” Sorenson stated. “I believe it’s going to dramatically restrict competitors.”
Just a few corporations already dominate on-line sports activities betting. FanDuel instructions 31% of the U.S. market, adopted by DraftKings with 26%, BetMGM with 16% and Caesars with 12%, based on analysis from Eilers & Krejcik.
“Very, only a few startups would be capable of afford that form of charge. I believe it’s going to dramatically restrict competitors.”
Olav Sorenson, sociologist, UCLA Anderson Faculty of Administration
“The purpose of this appears to be to create an oligopoly marketplace for sports activities betting,” stated Marc Edelman, a regulation professor at Baruch School who focuses on sports activities, gaming, and antitrust regulation. It will, he stated, profit a restricted variety of corporations “to the detriment of smaller corporations and shoppers.”
MaximBet, a sports activities betting firm launched in 2021, is up to now licensed in a single state: Colorado. The corporate tries to set itself aside by providing bettors in-person experiences — glitzy masquerade events, meet-and-greets with professional gamers, or the chance to drive a Ferrari round a race observe, stated Doug Terfher, vice chairman of selling for the corporate.
As a result of the corporate is licensed in only one state, it wouldn’t be capable of function in California but below the initiative backed by the gaming corporations — or the initiatives backed by the tribes. “We would like (California) to be as open and obtainable to as many operators as attainable with the place we’re in our development journey,” Terfher stated.
MaximBet is engaged on getting licensed in 10 states and in Ontario, Canada, however the course of is gradual. If the corporate is ready to get licensed in 5 states this yr, “it’ll be a tremendous yr,” stated Terfher.
Most states are limiting the variety of corporations that may provide sports activities betting, stated Daniel Wallach, a Florida-based gaming lawyer who has testified in entrance of state legislatures contemplating legalization. States do that with different types of playing too. It’s commonplace, he stated, for gaming to not be a free for all, the place any firm can take part. There should be some baseline requirements, he stated, that be sure that an organization’s integrity, expertise, and observe document are intently scrutinized.
Traditionally, organized crime teams have been concerned within the playing business, Wallach stated, so state legislatures and gaming businesses “are very cautious to restrict who can function on this closely regulated business.”
What are the sensible results?
If smaller corporations can’t do enterprise in California, which means fewer choices for would-be bettors and probably much less innovation.
“You’d mainly find yourself with rather a lot much less selection,” stated Holden.
One up-and-coming product Holden cited is exchange-based wagering, the place bettors can commerce wagers with one another all through a sport, just like how day merchants purchase and promote shares.
Sporttrade, a Philadelphia-based startup that provides stock-market-like sports activities betting, is engaged on getting licensed in New Jersey, Colorado, Indiana, and Louisiana. May it cough up $100 million and get licensed in 10 states with a view to come to California?
“No probability,” stated Alex Kane, the corporate’s CEO. He’s all for laws that defend shoppers, he stated, however thinks a $100 million licensing charge doesn’t have something to do with that. As a substitute, Kane stated he thinks the larger corporations writing the initiative don’t wish to face competitors. “They’re ‘What would we be prepared to pay to eliminate competitors altogether?’” Kane stated. “You’ll be able to see that it’s value some huge cash to them.”
And if it’s troublesome for brand new corporations to succeed in prospects in California, that might wind up shaping not simply what providers are provided, however who gives them. “Such a excessive monetary barrier to entry makes it practically unattainable for minority-owned companies — or new companies or entrepreneurial ventures — to even try to compete,” stated Edelman, the regulation professor at Baruch School. If there’s not a variety of competitors between sports activities betting distributors, which may additionally result in worse costs for purchasers, he stated.
“To presume that an organization that might spend some huge cash is moral and an organization that might spend a small amount of cash just isn’t moral could be very doubtful logic.”
Marc Edelman, regulation professor, Baruch School
If the initiative backed by the gaming corporations passes, California wouldn’t be probably the most restrictive state — not even shut. Delaware has primarily restricted sports activities betting to 3 casinos. Washington D.C. enabled one app, run by the DC Lottery, to supply on-line sports activities betting city-wide, whereas different corporations are restricted to the geographic areas surrounding sports activities arenas they’ve reduce offers with. Somes states have set limits on the variety of licenses they’ll provide. Washington state made sports activities betting the unique area of Native American tribes, and Maine appears poised to make an analogous choice.
Regulators could make guidelines that defend shoppers and guarantee gaming corporations act responsibly with out limiting the variety of corporations that may function. The truth that many states have restricted the variety of licenses they’ll give out isn’t essentially as a result of that’s the optimum arrange for shoppers. It’s as a result of they’ve been lobbied by casinos, racetracks, and different teams that have already got a stake in playing, stated Giden.
If the purpose is to make sure that corporations function ethically, then regulators must be reviewing corporations’ previous enterprise practices throughout all traces of enterprise, stated Edelman, the gaming and antitrust regulation professor.
“To presume that an organization that might spend some huge cash is moral and an organization that might spend a small amount of cash just isn’t moral could be very doubtful logic,” he stated.
(KRON) — California is seeing a rise in cases of whooping cough, a highly contagious bacterial disease that can cause severe illness, state health officials said Friday. Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is especially harmful to infants, according to the California Department of Public Health.
The CDPH is urging all Californians, especially those who are pregnant or provide care to infants, to be up to date on their Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccine.
Dr. Tomas Aragon, CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer, explained, “Since the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, many practices that had lowered instances of whooping cough are no longer in place, and we’re seeing the disease return to pre-pandemic levels.”
People who are vaccinated against whooping cough are protected against severe illness and complications due to whooping cough. Complications causing apnea — dangerous pauses in breathing — and can be fatal for babies, according to CDPH.
“More than 2,000 cases of whooping cough were reported statewide between January and October 2024. Sixty-two of those cases were infants less than four months of age who were hospitalized, including one infant who tragically died,” state health officials wrote.
People with whooping cough have severe coughing attacks that can last for months.
The CDPH said vaccination is recommended for all:
- Pregnant people between 27 and 36 weeks of pregnancy, even if they have received Tdap in the past.
- Adults, every 10 years.
- Adolescents aged 11 or 12 years (Tdap vaccine is also required for 7th grade advancement in California).
- Infants and young children receive their own whooping cough (DTaP) vaccines starting at 2 months through 4-6 years of age.
In summary
California legislators want to limit deportation actions at schools, but they can’t ban immigration officials.
California lawmakers are proposing steps to protect K-12 students and families from mass deportations — although the real value of those proposals may be symbolic.
A pair of bills in the Legislature — AB 49 and SB 48 — would keep federal agents from detaining undocumented students or their families on or near school property without a warrant. The bills are a response to President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to deport undocumented immigrants, a move which could have major consequences for schools in California, which funds its schools based on attendance and where 12% of students have at least one undocumented parent.
Both bills would make it harder and more time-consuming for agents to enter schools or day care centers. But they can only delay, not stop, arrests.
“In no way can these bills override federal law,” said Kevin Johnson, a law professor at UC Davis. “But the bills respond to a great concern in the community that it’s not safe to take your children to school. … I can’t emphasize enough how important this is, how vulnerable undocumented immigrants feel right now.”
AB 49, proposed by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, a Democrat from Torrance, would require immigration agents to obtain written permission from the superintendent before coming onto school property. It also bars agents from being in rooms where children are present. SB 48, introduced by Sen. Lena Gonzalez, a Democrat from Long Beach, would prohibit local police from cooperating with federal agents — such as assisting in arrests or providing information about families’ immigration status — within one mile of a school. It also bars schools from sharing student and family information with federal authorities.
School districts have also doubled down on their efforts to protect students and families. Los Angeles Unified has partnered with legal aid organizations to assist families and instructed schools not to ask students about their immigration status. San Francisco Unified has similar policies.
“(San Francisco Unified) is a safe haven for all students regardless of citizenship status,” Superintendent Maria Su wrote to the community after the November election. “SFUSD restates our position that all students have the right to attend school regardless of their immigration status or that of their family members.”
Schools as safe havens
Schools have long been safe havens for immigrant students. Under a 1982 Supreme Court ruling, public schools must enroll all students regardless of their immigration status and can’t charge tuition to students who aren’t legal residents. And since 2011, federal guidelines discourage agents from making immigration arrests at schools, hospitals, churches, courthouses and other “sensitive locations.”
But Trump said he plans to eliminate the “sensitive locations” guidelines, and the conservative Heritage Foundation, which published the right-leaning Project 2025 manifesto, is encouraging states to charge tuition to undocumented K-12 students. That could set up the possible overturn of the Supreme Court decision guaranteeing access to school for undocumented students. The foundation’s rationale is that government agencies such as schools are already overburdened and need to prioritize services for U.S. citizens.
“The (Biden) administration’s new version of America is nothing more than an open-border welfare state,” Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, wrote. “No country can sustain or survive such a vision.”
Muratsuchi, chair of the Assembly Education Committee, said he was inspired to author AB 49 just after the election, when he listened to the concerns of immigrant students in the political science class he teaches at El Camino Community College in Torrance.
“It became clear there was more and more fear among my students, not only for themselves but for their families. The fear of families being torn apart is very real,” Muratuschi said. “We want to send a strong message to our immigrant students that we’re going to do everything we can to protect them.”
‘Too scared to speak up’
For most undocumented families, deportation would mean a plunging into poverty and in many cases, violence. Nahomi, a high school senior in Fresno County whom CalMatters is identifying by her middle name because of her immigration status, described the threat of deportation as “a major worry for my family and I. Our lives could change completely in a blink of an eye.”
“I can’t emphasize enough how important this is, how vulnerable undocumented immigrants feel right now.”
Kevin Johnson, law professor at UC Davis
Nahomi and her parents arrived in California in 2011 from the city of Culiacan in Sinaloa, Mexico, an area plagued by widespread violence. They initially planned to stay until Sinaloa became safer, but once they settled in the Central Valley they decided the risks of returning outweighed the risk of deportation, so they stayed. Nahomi’s father works in construction and her mother is a homemaker, raising Nahomi and her younger sister.
While she and her family fear deportation, Nahomi is not afraid to attend school. She said schools can help families know their rights and help children feel safe.
“I feel very welcomed and safe there,” she said. “It is a very diverse high school and I just feel like any other student. … (But) a lot of these families are probably too scared to speak up about doubts they might have.”
Politically unpopular?
Patricia Gándara, an education professor and co-director of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA, said the risk of federal agents arresting students at schools is probably small. It’s unclear how many children in K-12 schools are undocumented, but it’s probably a relatively small number, she said. In any case, immigration enforcement that affects children almost always sparks public outcry from both parties, she said.
“Some people might say they’re anti-immigrant, but it’s another thing entirely when the family up the street, whom they’ve known for 20 years, suddenly gets deported, or your kid’s best friend gets deported,” said Gandara, who’s studied the topic extensively. “It’s politically very unpopular.”
Still, the proposed bills could send a powerful message that schools are safe places, she said. Immigration crackdowns can have a significant impact on student attendance, a Stanford study found, which can lead to less funding for schools, particularly low-income schools that enroll large numbers of immigrant children.
Immigration crackdowns can also lead to an increase in bullying, anxiety and general uncertainty on campus, not just for immigrant children but for everyone, Gándara said. Teachers, in particular, experience high levels of stress when their students’ safety is endangered, she said.
Schools can’t rely solely on state laws to protect immigrant families, though. They should partner with local nonprofits to provide legal services and other support to families who need assistance.
“Schools are one of the last places immigrant families feel safe,” Gandara said. “But as soon as (federal agents) move into schools, they’re not so safe any more. These bills say, ‘We’re not going to sit back and let this happen. Not all of government is against you.”
California ‘one of the best places to be’
Both bills are awaiting hearings in the Legislature. Tammy Lin, supervising attorney with the University of San Diego Immigration Clinic, expects California to continue to take steps to protect undocumented families, but political conflicts will be inevitable.
The incoming Trump administration is likely to battle California and other left-leaning states over immigration matters. Even within California, conflicts are likely to erupt between state leaders and those in more conservative regions, or even between agencies in the same area. In San Diego County, for example, the Board of Supervisors ordered the sheriff’s office to not notify federal immigration officers when it releases suspected undocumented inmates from jail, but the sheriff refused to comply.
Lin also said she wouldn’t be surprised if there’s an attempt to overturn the Supreme Court ruling guaranteeing education to undocumented children, potentially paving the way for other immigrants’ rights to be reversed.
“It’s a slippery slope,” Lin said. “Immigrants know this, which is why there’s immense fear and uncertainty right now. But bills like these show that California is still one of the best places you can be.”
Suriyah Jones, a member of the CalMatters Youth Journalism Initiative, contributed to this story.
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LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A new California law aims to ease the financial burden during some of life’s biggest transitions and challenges.
This year, paid family leave and disability benefits increased to historic levels.
“Previously, most workers would only receive 60% of their income,” explained Katherine Wutchiett, a senior staff attorney at the nonprofit organization, Legal Aid At Work.
“The dream of being able to take care of your baby, newborn baby, or being able to take care of a family member that’s ill, you couldn’t do it,” said California Sen. María Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles.)
What’s the new California parental leave law?
Under the new law authored by Durazo, eligible California workers can now receive between 70% and 90% up to a cap.
“As a mom of two who just recently had a baby, I think increasing it to 90% is really important,” said Savannah Powell, who also stressed parental leave should be available for a longer period of time. “Families need that to stay afloat.”
Under the new law, those who make about 70% of the state’s average weekly wage — about $63,000 or less annually — will receive 90% of their income.
“Folks who make more than that will receive 70% to 90% of their income,” said Wutchiett.
The benefits apply to eligible workers filing for state disability insurance, or paid family leave. That includes those who may be navigating military deployment, adoption or caring for a seriously ill family member.
“We’ve got, in California, 1.3 million individuals that are caregivers,” said Gloria Crockett, the regional vice president and executive director for the California, Southland chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
The organization did not take a position on the bill.
Part of what the law does is remove a cap that allowed higher income earners to stop contributing to the fund for these state benefits.
“These are all inequities that we identified and we said, ‘We have to fix this,’” said Durazo.
Legal Aid At Work is one of the organizations that co-sponsored the bill.
Wutchiett explained that while the increase applies only to claims filed beginning in 2025, there are some options.
“If, for instance, somebody hasn’t applied yet, and maybe they started taking time off from work in the last week of December, they could make the decision to date their claim just starting in January,” she said.
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