No on Proposition 26
Allow sports gambling, but only by Native American tribes
What is it?
Proposition 26 is an Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute which would legalize sports gambling, roulette, and dice games on Native American tribal land.
Why is this on the ballot?
According to Article II, Section 8 of the California Constitution, amendments to the California Constitution may be introduced by collecting signatures (8% of the votes cast in the most recent Governor's race). The amendment must then be approved by voters with a simple majority of 50% + 1.
The campaign, initiated by four Tribes (Pechanga Indian Reservation, Barona Band of Mission Indians, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians) paid signature gatherers nearly $11 million to get this on the ballot. The campaign has raised nearly $80 million in favor, largely from other Native American tribes.
Fiscal impacts
Increased state revenues, possibly reaching tens of millions of dollars annually. Some of these revenues would support increased state regulatory and enforcement costs that could reach the low tens of millions of dollars annually.
- See "Fiscal Effects" section of the Legislative Analyst Office report (PDF)
Why vote No?
GrowSF opposes Proposition 26 because it is clear regulatory capture by a state-granted monopoly.
Simply put: organizations should not write their own regulations. Especially when those organizations already have a sweetheart deal granting them a total monopoly on a particular activity.
In this case, Native American tribes currently have a monopoly on gambling, granted and enforced by the State of California. They are now trying to expand the scope of that monopoly to more types of gambling and are writing the regulations that govern themselves at the same time. The fact that the tribes have spent nearly $80 million for this initiative shows just how interested they are in writing their own rules.
This is an abuse of the California initiative system. These regulations should be set by the State Legislature, not the organizations subject to the regulations.