Every week, listeners hear Poker Hall of Famer Phil Hellmuth's voice utter the words, “Gamble on, fellas, gamble on,” and they know it's time for another audio infusion of gambling news, views, interviews, and bankroll blues.
Here's a taste of what Episode 267 of the leading industry podcast from our friends at , hosted by Eric Raskin and Jeff Edelstein, had to offer …
Dorson: 'California is a huge puzzle'
Interview guest Jill R. Dorson, whose byline you see several times a week right here on ), stopped by for a conversation that Raskin dubbed “the exact opposite of a six-hour Massachusetts Gaming Commission meeting.”
Edelstein asked Dorson a pair of carefully crafted questions: “What the f**k, Florida?” and “What the f**k, California?” Regarding Florida, where the Seminole Tribe surprisingly relaunched its Hard Rock Bet app Tuesday, prompting an urgent request from the tribe's legal opponents to shutter the site, Dorson said:
“I feel like all you’re doing by launching and then risking the possibility of being taken down is pushing people to the black market, which is exactly the opposite of what every other operator legislator and regulator out there wants.”
As for California, where a group called Eagle 1 Acquisition Co. has put forth a pair of initiative proposals and received immediate pushback from some of the state's tribal leaders, Dorson explained:
“The latest initiative proposals that have been filed are from somebody that has a relationship or had a relationship with at least one of the tribes here, but it’s been a long time since they’ve worked together. It came as a surprise to the tribes. The initial statement from James Siva of the California Indian Nations Gaming Association was like a slap on the hand, you know, 'Don’t tell us what to do, come to us, talk to us.' But there was also a 'dear tribal leaders' letter that laid out what this would look like and why this person thinks it can work. And the latest now from the tribes is, hmm, maybe we’ll listen.”
So where do California sports betting hopes go from here? “Figuring out California is a huge puzzle,” Dorson said. “My guess is it’s going to take a while. We’re probably three to five years out – unless this latest proposal somehow strikes the fancy of the tribes and they feel like they’re going to get everything they want. But I do see a world where it doesn’t ever really happen because [the tribes are] comfortable with what they have.”
Is California ready to legalize sports betting? Jill Dorson details the divide between what the operators want and what the tribes want on the latest episode of the Gamble On podcast: https://t.co/raYChzLtRO pic.twitter.com/6nktvlNXoO