Guide to Proposition 27, online gambling, on the 2022 California midterm ballot

California voters will decide the fate of seven statewide propositions on Nov. 8.

The propositions, like all state ballot measures, require approval by a simple majority of voters for passage. Unless otherwise specified, propositions approved by voters will take effect once the election results are certified in December.

Here’s what you need to know about Proposition 27.

Proposition 27 would allow licensed tribes and gambling companies, including FanDuel and DraftKings, to offer online sports betting — including on cellphones and other mobile devices. The gambling companies must be affiliated with a tribe. Both the tribes and gambling companies must pay 10% of the sports bets made every month to the state, minus expenses.

Along with covering state regulatory costs, most of the money raised would be used to address homelessness and to help people with gambling addiction problems. A smaller portion, 15%, would be given to tribes not involved in online sports betting.

California’s major gaming tribes support Proposition 26, a competing ballot measure, and fear that competition created under Proposition 27 would cut into a major part of California’s gambling market at tribal casinos. Supporters and opponents of the two measures already have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the campaigns.

California

Voter guide to the 2022 California midterm election

Who is running for California governor? What are the propositions on the ballot? Here is your guide to the 2022 midterm election.

Nov. 8, 2022

A recent poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by The Times, found that likely voters in California who have seen a lot of ads about Propositions 26 and 27 were more opposed to the measures than those who had not seen any ads. Supporters of each ballot measure have aired a barrage of negative ads attacking the competing proposition.

“I think it’s the negative advertisements that have kind of been turning voters away,” said Berkeley IGS poll director Mark DiCamillo. “People who haven’t seen the ads are about evenly divided, but people who’ve seen a lot of ads are against it. So, the advertising is not helping.”

And that’s bad news for both ballot measures. The poll found that Proposition 26 earned only 31% support from likely voters, compared with 42% opposed, according to the Berkeley survey of 6,939 likely California voters. Proposition 27 fared even worse — 27% of likely voters in support and 53% opposed.

Learn more about all seven ballot propositions on the November ballot.

California propositions voter guide: Gambling, abortion, EV cars, kidney dialysis and more

California’s November election will feature seven statewide ballot measures.

The Times’ editorial page publishes endorsements based on candidate interviews and independent reporting. The editorial board operates independently of the newsroom — reporters covering these races have no say in the endorsements.

Voices

L.A. Times electoral endorsements for November 2022

The L.A. Times’ editorial board endorsements for statewide ballot measures, elected offices in Los Angeles city and county, L.A. Unified School District board, L.A. county superior court, statewide offices, the state Legislature and U.S. House and Senate seats.

Endorsement

No on Propositions 26 and 27. Legalizing sports betting stacks the odds against Californians

California doesn’t need the massive expansion of gambling under either proposition.

Sept. 11, 2022

California

How the newspaper endorsement sausage gets made

How, exactly, does The Times’ editorial board decide on its endorsements? This is what the process looks like.

Feb. 26, 2020

Ballots will be in the mail to all 22 million registered voters in the state no later than Oct. 10. Californians can return ballots by mail, drop them at collection boxes or turn them in at voting centers. They can also cast ballots early at voting centers or wait until Nov. 8 to vote at their neighborhood polling places.

Californians can register to vote or check their status at https://registertovote.ca.gov/.

How to vote in the 2022 midterm election in California

Here’s how to vote in the California midterm election, how to register, what to do if you didn’t get mail ballot or if you made a mistake on your ballot.