On Tuesday, Prop-27 advocates released their first statewide advert attempting to gain public support for their cause. Named the ‘Corporate Online Gambling Prop’, Prop-27 is an online sports gambling proposition funded by out-of-state corporations to legalize online and mobile sports betting in the Golden State.
The thirty-second advert released does not mention gambling a single time, instead opting to focus on how Prop-27 proposes to tackle homelessness and mental health issues through sports betting tax revenue.
The advert highlights the City of Refuge in Sacramento which houses 26 families and aims to reduce homelessness, address mental illness and provide spaces for addictions to be broken. The advert is funded by commercial gambling operators such as PENN Entertainment and BetMGM.
This commerical comes only a day after San Diego Regional Task on Homelessness Director, Tamera Kohler, published a pro-Prop 27 column in the San Diego Union-Tribune. The op-ed was one of the first such pieces in support of Prop-27 to appear in a major Californian newspaper.
Kohler commented that the bill: “Is a measure that would allow Native American tribes and gambling companies that partner with a California tribe to offer online sports betting, would finally give our communities what they need to address this crisis.
“It would offer a permanent, ongoing source of revenue for homelessness solutions and immediate access to mental health and substance treatment and affordable housing programs.”
Prop-27 is adamantly opposed by the majority of California’s Native American tribal casinos, who have launched their own bill – Prop-26 to compete with it. Prop-26 proposes to amend the state constitution to guarantee tribal casinos exclusivity over roulette, craps and sports, adding to their current monopoly on slot machines. Prop-26 also emphasizes that gambling revenue gained would go toward tackling homelessness, mental health and addiction issues.
