Two proposed ballot initiatives filed with the attorney general Friday give California Indian tribes exclusivity for in-person and online California sports betting.
Although no tribe is listed in the filing, multiple tribal sources confirm to  PlayUSA  that the initiatives are from the Pala Band of Mission Indians . As previously reported by  PlayUSA , Pala Chairman Robert Smith had been in contact with some tribal leaders this month about filing a sports betting initiative.
Other tribes could also be involved, but it is not a widespread tribal effort at this point.
Reeve Collins , co-founder and CEO of Pala Interactive , an online gaming platform created by the tribe and sold to Boyd Gaming in 2022, is listed as the contact for the initiative filings. The filings were signed by Ryan Tyler Walz , whose relationship with the tribe is unclear.
One filing provides a full framework for California sports betting under Indian tribes. The other merely amends the state constitution to ensure that the state legislature may not authorize in-person or online sports betting for any person or entity other than an Indian tribe.
The state legislature could then set up the framework for sports betting with Indian tribes, who would enter compacts with the state, at a later date.
Details of California sports betting initiative
Titled the Sports Wagering Regulation and Tribal Gaming Protection Act , the fully formed initiative seems similar to the framework introduced last election cycle by tribes led by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians .
Details include:

Tribes enter compacts with the state and contract with sportsbook operators as vendors .
Requires all California sports betting sites and mobile apps to be branded exclusively under the tribe’s federally recognized name .
Requires in-person registration for online sports betting accounts.
Only permits sports wagering by people 21 and older . This is relevant because some California Indian tribes allow gambling at 18 and older in their casinos.
Permits sports wagering only on professional, college, or amateur sports or athletic events. Excludes high school and lower-level school sports or athletic events.
Provides new sources of revenue to tribes and California communities to help address
homelessness and mental health throughout California by the establishment of the California Homelessness and Mental Health Fund .
Suggests a model form sports wagering compact in which sport wagering tribes contribute 10% of adjusted sports wagering gross revenue into the California Homelessness and Mental Health Fund and 15% to revenue sharing with limited and non-gaming tribes .
Caps  management service providers partnering  with tribes to operate online sports betting to  40% of net revenues . It also limits such partnership agreements to  seven years .

Pala won’t have much time to qualify for ballot
This is late for a California initiative filing, making qualifying difficult for the November 2024 election .
To have the full 180 days to collect signatures for a random count, the secretary of state recommends submitting an initiative by Aug. 22 . After filing the initiative with the attorney general, the petitioner must wait  65 days  to circulate the petition for signatures.
So Pala wouldn’t be able to begin collecting signatures until January , giving the tribe about four months to collect the 874,641 valid signatures required to make the ballot.
The secretary of state recommends petitioners submit signatures to counties for verification by  April 23 . But there can be a one-to-two-week leeway.
Initiatives must be qualified by the secretary of state by  June 27, 2024 , at least 131 days prior to the  Nov. 5 election . The post Tribal Online Sports Betting Initiatives Filed In California appeared first on Play USA .