Kasey Thompson, co-founder of Pala Interactive and a former owner of a poker magazine, in late October was the man behind a pair of initiative proposals that would give the state’s tribes a monopoly on California sports betting and begin to lay the groundwork for online casino. They made that clear in 250 million ways in 2022, when they spent about that much to kill a sports betting proposal backed by a consortium of seven commercial operators.Ī year later, a businessman with previous ties to one California tribe is walking down the same pathway.
If there is one thing that California’s tribes don’t like, it’s being told what to do.