California’s powerful Indian gaming sector is famously fighting regulated sports betting in the Golden State, but that’s not the only issue that’s bothering them. Last week at the Global Gaming Expo, Indian Gaming Association (IGA) Conference Chair and President of Victor Strategies Victor Rocha spoke about the group’s opposition to DFS and online lotteries.
The tribes are concerned about competition from DFS and lottery operators and have asked California Attorney General Rob Bonta to issue an opinion on the subject. That request was made over a year ago and, so far, the tribes have heard nothing. Chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) James Siva commented on the delay in comments reported on by SBC Americas saying, “The Attorney General has still yet to promulgate those regs. So I think that’s probably a good sign. I think if it had gone fast, it would have been bad for tribes. But now that he’s getting pushback, I think he’s he’s thinking about this law deeply.”
Siva went on to clarify his position that DFS is not legal in California adding, “But just to clarify, in California, DFS is illegal. It happens. The states allow it to happen, but it is illegal. There’s no other way around it.”
Rocha dismissed efforts by the DFS industry to work with the tribes on the issue saying, “That is a transgression against the tribes to come in after the fact and look for permission. Why you’re already here taking money out of California? No, no, no, no, that’s not how it works. You’re not going to get permission.”
What Rocha and Siva’s show, very clearly, is that California’s powerful tribal gaming sector remains strongly opposed to any expansion of Golden State gaming.