Wedge Issues
Gambling is becoming a wedge issue in multiple locales. In Alabama it's linked to voter turnout. In California it's causing a rift between tribes.
The Bulletin Board
NEWS: Alabama lawmaker sees gambling as a potential voter turnout boon for the other side and wants to keep it off the 2024 ballot.
NEWS: A tribal rift in California is much ado about nothing.
WEEKEND CATCHUP: iGaming in Brazil; MGM Funds PG Research; NC Mobile Betting Update.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: Limiting bettors and the strained relationship between RG and VIP departments.
STRAY THOUGHTS: Wise words from the one and only Rick Rubin.
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Alabama Finds a New Reason to Pass on Gambling
How complex are gambling discussions? In addition to stakeholder disagreements, cannibalization concerns, and lawmakers not wanting to answer phone calls from angry constituents, there is also a fear of potential knock-on effects.
In Alabama, a lawmaker is worried that a constitutional amendment to expand gambling could increase voter turnout.
In an interview with The Jeff Poor Show, Alabama State Sen. Chris Elliott cautioned against putting gambling on the ballot:
"I think it is pretty reasonable to say it would be a mistake to put gaming on the presidential election [ballot], that it would drive up Democrats' turnout. And that is not something that the majority in either chamber should want to do. That's something that I'm going to be watching for. Obviously, we want to be paying attention to what's going on in CD-2, and if there is a chance for a Republican to win, I certainly don't want to torpedo it by some action of the Legislature."
Elliot also called gambling “a work in progress” and doesn’t believe it will get to the point where his voter turnout concerns would come into play. “I think the whole gaming conversation has got miles and miles to go before we get to any kind of solution,” Elliot said.
All that said, Elliot seems to be putting the cart before the horse. In a recent opinion column, Josh Moon from the Alabama Political Reporter summed up the situation in three points:
1. Republicans ain’t winning that seat, and it doesn’t matter if Ronald Reagan’s ghost is on the ticket;
2. Democrats in that district will NOT need a secondary issue, like gambling, to drive them to the polls to vote in a fair race that they fought all the way to the Supreme Court to get; and
3. Republicans gamble too.
To Moon’s last point, gambling is not an overwhelmingly partisan issue, and history says Elliot’s fears of Democrats coming out in large numbers to support gambling are misplaced. In a 2015 poll of Alabama voters, 60% of conservatives wanted gambling on the ballot. Or, as Moon wrote, “You have to be living in some alternate reality to seriously believe that Democrats hold a major voter advantage on the issue of gambling in this day and age.”
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Dividing California Tribes Is Not a Winning Strategy
Several California tribes have lined up behind an effort to get sports betting on the 2024 ballot, per Matthew Kredell of Play USA. But, when it comes to political clout, the tribes lining up with the online sports betting backers are not on equal footing, with the tribes opposing the proposal.
And groups have been trying to drive a wedge between tribes for more than a decade.
During California’s online poker debates, tribal coalitions formed, with some lining up with online operators.
During the 2022 efforts to legalize mobile betting, several non-gaming tribes saw an opportunity to get into gaming by supporting the mobile betting effort, thereby setting themselves up to be the tribal partners of the commercial online operators. That seems like a win-win, as the backers can claim tribal support.
But all it does is make legalization more challenging, as it severs any tiny threads of trust that might exist.
And that’s what is happening again.
California tribal politics are always messy. What I’ve learned over the years is:
The catchall use of “tribes” denotes groupthink, but every tribe has agency. These are unique groups with long histories and different priorities and goals.
Goals sometimes overlap, but sometimes they don’t. And, sometimes, the disagreements have nothing to do with gambling.
Several tribes wield incredible political power and can virtually singlehandedly stop legislation.
As Victor Rocha notes, the four tribes backing the effort are a tiny sliver of the overall pie.
Weekend Catchup: iGaming in Brazil; MGM Funds PG Research; NC Mobile Betting Update
I don’t go outside the US too often, but big things are happening in Brazil, where the Brazilian legislature has passed legislation that would legalize online casino gambling and sports betting. The market is projected to be worth $3.8 Billion within five years.
MGM has donated $360,000 to the International Center for Responsible Gaming (ICRG) in support of two two-year research projects attempting to understand, prevent, and address potential risks associated with gambling.
Per North Carolina journalist Brian Murphy for WRAL (a must-follow for anyone interested in the Tarheel State), The NC Lottery said of a mobile betting launch date, “If progress continues at the pace it is now, an earlier start date than June 15 should be achievable… With all the progress that’s been made, the commission expects to be in a position soon to announce when sports betting can begin in North Carolina.”
Gov. Roy Cooper’s appearance on Ovies & Giglio (cued up below at 15 minutes) led to Murphy contacting the NC Lottery for comment.
Around the Watercooler
Social media conversations, rumors, and gossip.
Gambling legend Haralabos Voulgaris sparked quite the pre-Christmas discussion in a thread about sportsbooks limiting winning bettors:
Many of the responses were about being limited, but some delved into the RG side of the sports betting experience:
As RG consultant Jamie Salsburg noted, this is what happens when two dichotomous departments are doing their job well.
Stray Thoughts
This is a fantastic quote I recently heard from Rick Rubin.
“The audience doesn’t know what they want; they only know what’s come before.”