California Legal Sports Betting Ads Being Removed
California voters will decide the fate of sports betting at the polls in November. Advocates for California legal sports betting are backing off of advertising leading up to the big day.
California Legal Sports Betting Ads Being Removed
The residents in the state of California will get to vote on the future of legal sports betting with a pair of propositions on the ballot this fall. The path to legal sports betting in California has been a mess, and it could get even messier in November.
Proposition 27 landed on the ballot after a number of key industry stakeholders were able to work together to get enough signatures on a petition. Leaders from companies such as DraftKings and FanDuel want to launch legal sports betting in California and they want to do it through mobile and online sportsbooks.
There has been an aggressive ad campaign taking place in the state, but that is going to start to change in the coming weeks. “Yes on 27” is the name of the campaign that has been launched, but leaders of that campaign have agreed to remove most advertisements with less than two months before election day.
While removing television ads seems like an interesting strategy that is taking place, the group will instead focus on mail and other digital advertisements. This might seem like the group is backing off as the final decision nears, but a more direct approach can save money and might convince those residents that are still on the fence.
Residents Against Sports Betting?
The Public Policy Institute of California recently conducted a survey looking at the thoughts of voters on sports betting. The results of the poll paint a bad picture for sportsbook operators that are hoping to have success with the proposition.
According to the results of the survey, over 50 percent of the residents that were polled are against any form of online sports betting in the state. To take that a step further, just 34 percent of those studied said that they would cast a vote for Proposition 27 in November.
This study also focused and highlighted different political parties and nearly all Republicans indicated that they would be opposed to the proposition. This was a small sample that was used for this study and there have been some surprising results in other states on the same topic.
Tribes Still Lurking
Prop 27 is not the only chance for legal sports betting in the state of California as Native American tribes are also trying to get a referendum passed. The Native American tribes have not been as aggressive with their campaign as the sportsbooks, but it might actually work out in the end.
The proposal from the Native American tribes would allow for retail sports betting, but there would not be any way to place a bet online. While the sportsbook operators believe that both propositions could pass, Native American tribes are simply not interested in a market where online sports betting is available.
The tribes are expected to start campaigning and advertising more in the weeks leading up to the election.
