From donations to the fire station.
What did he do with this truck?
We had a severely
outdated and quite frankly,
inadequate water tender
that we that we utilized.
To a community health clinic on the way,
it's hard to ignore the benefits
the ton of esparto and Yolo County
has enjoyed since the neighboring
Yocha Dehe went to nation
implemented gambling in the 1980s.
It was just tough. I mean,
tribes living in poverty.
A stark contrast to what yocha dehe
Wintun Nation chairman Anthony
Roberts says life was like growing up.
I'm struggling to make ends meet,
you know, not knowing where our
next meal was going to come from.
The tribe, which runs the
Cash Creek Casino and resort,
is now flooded. With cash,
the numbers exactly. We don't
usually share those types of things,
but I will tell you that it's growing.
It's growing tremendously.
60 year California veteran journalist
Dan Walters, who has covered the
history of casinos in the state,
says combined casino tribes make billions,
billions and billions of dollars a year.
Dozens of tribes are supporting
Proposition 26 to legalize in person
sports betting at tribal casinos.
California's Indian tribes vote no.
And 27, but let's rewind.
How did California get to the point
where tribes operate casinos?
In
1987, a California try won
a US Supreme Court case.
If the state allows any sort of
gambling at the time, bingo parlors,
the tribes were allowed to
have it on their land too. They
made money and they built better facilities.
Within a few years we're kind of
expanding the definition of the
courts permission and started
putting in a form of slot machines.
Efforts of the California Attorney
General at the time who was
trying to shut the casinos down.
State authorities said they were illegal.
But they fought over it,
continued to have a slot machines,
and finally made enough money on the slots,
finance and ballot measures in California
that gave them a monopoly over almost
full casino gambling in California.
In 2000, California voters
overwhelmingly supported Proposition
1 to permit tribes to operate
slot machines, lottery games,
and bank and percentage card games.
Like blackjack,
for the better part of two decades,
have supported tribal gaming
here in California on our lands.
That's giving us the opportunity
to become economically viable,
to provide healthcare and education.
Fast forward 22 years and now
Californians are presented with
a similar gambling question.
If sports wagering should become
legal in California, who should
operate it? There are a number
of ways that ours are better.
Nathan Clarke is running the
yes on Proposition 27 campaign,
which will legalize online sports.
Getting run through large corporations
like DraftKings and FanDuel,
it also creates a pathway to legalize
online betting on non sporting events
like award shows and video games.
But why is Prop 27 being promoted by
supporters as a way to fight homelessness?
Prop 27 would, for the first
time in state history,
create a permanent source of funding
for homelessness interventions.
These are things like
permanent supportive housing,
they've added in what
experts call sweeteners.
Some funding for homelessness and
they also partnered with three
non gaming tribes that don't
enjoy the same financial benefits
that tribes with casinos do.
It's a common thing when people draft
ballot makers that they have what they
really want and then they throw in a
few goodies on the side so that people
would be more willing to vote for it.
And it goes back to think of the
lottery initiative back in the 80s
the lottery initiatives was sold to.
To the voters on the on the assumption that,
quote, the schools win too,
the some of the money from the
lottery would go to the schools.
How much
money will Prop 27 provide to homelessness?
Authors of the bill are calling it the
homelessness and mental Health Support Act.
90% of revenue goes out of state.
10% of the revenue goes to the state.
After taking out money for fees.
What's left of that ten percent,
85% is designated for homeless funding, but a
small percentage of a large
amount is still a lot of.
Funny, the independent Legislative
Analysts Office predicts it will
bring in hundreds of 1,000,000
a year for homelessness.
You know that the state of
California has already put
billions towards helping solve homelessness,
and numbers keep going up.
So is there a road map of how exactly
this money is going to be used?
Absolutely. The state has
spent some one time money,
but that's only one time money.
But we haven't had a permanent
ongoing funding source,
and that's a revenue stream
that will help cities and
counties plan for the long term.
One of many issues raised
with Prop 27 problem gambling.
As of right now, 3.7 million
Californians experience problem
gambling in their lifetime. Gambling
actually does create a high.
It creates a dopamine high,
but it doesn't create a high.
That's going to result in you,
for example, passing out.
Like if you're drinking,
eventually you pass out.
But people who gamble can
do it for days at a time.
Robert Jacobson is the director of the
California Council on Problem Gambling.
The Council is neutral when it
comes to gambling. Propositions.
What they do give input on is if
propositions will provide funding
to help treat addiction that
will arise from them if passed.
Proposition 26 currently
includes dedicated funding for
problem gambling services.
Proposition 27 does not.
Proposition 27 does allow the
state legislature to decide if
they want to allocate money
toward problem gambling,
but Jacobson fears they won't.
The recurring theme that's going
to come through our conversation
it's not enough. Research exists.
Types have been doing this for
a better part of two decades.
They already have their policies
and regulations in place to
combat problem gambling.
Let's talk about underage
gambling. One ad against Prop
27 claims every digital device will be turned
into a sports wagering tool and won't be
able to control minors from placing bets.
The yes on Proposition 27 campaign disagrees.
Practice rules to ensure that
those who place bets are over
the age of 18. No one will be able
to place a bet who is a minor.
More than 30 states legalize
online sports betting
since the 2018 Supreme Court
case allowed them to do so.
The more widespread the marketing for that
online gambling and the more exposure
that people have to that marketing,
ultimately the higher the prevalence
rates become and the speed
with which addictions develop.
And the severity with which
addictions develop?
If Proposition 26 is passed,
in addition to legalizing sports betting
in casinos on Native American land,
it includes 4 horse tracks in the state.
Why the horse tracks?
Well, by including them,
it doesn't really cost anything,
but it kind of eliminated some
potential opposition car drew.
People still didn't like it.
They still particularly didn't
like it because Proposition 26
has a poison pill clause in
it that subjects the cardrooms
to some legal harassment that
they otherwise would not have.
Let's eliminate opposition,
creating more of a monopoly.
The measure also that they
don't talk about it very much,
also legalizes other games in
Indian casinos such as Roulette
Pro 26 tribes fear they will
lose revenue of 27 passes.
We feel like this would be a huge
infringement on our brick and
mortars if this were to pass,
but Walter said 85 to 90% of the revenue
they currently make is from slot machines.
The physical aspect of pulling the lever,
it's almost the whole game, he said.
It's a separate, younger male base
that will generate revenue for
online sports betting or in person.
The question should be who will
get billions on top of the
billions they are already making.
They say it's unsafe now,
but in 2024, in just two years
when it's their initiative,
they'll be totally fine with it.
That's obviously incredibly
hypocritical and shows exactly why
they're opposing. Initiative
in a Sacramento Press Club debate with
both Proposition 26 and 27 campaigns.
Kathy Fairbanks with Proposition 26
said that the tribes were backing
the in person only initiative this
year are also backing an initiative
in 2024 for online sports wagering,
but run through the tribes instead
of large out-of-state operations.
Mobile sports betting is
something that that people want.
Again, we want to start slowly,
with responsibly.
People can vote yes on both.
The extent that they're in conflict
with each other, the one that has
the most votes will prevail will
probably be some court battles.
No on both or yes on one of
them and no on the other.
It's not going to go away.
If both of these measures are defeated,
I think it would be back in the 2024
ballot within at least one more measure.
So gear up for billboards,
TV and radio advertisements.
These campaigns have already
outspent every other initiative
in California history because
the wind is worth the bet.