Poll: Dueling sports betting measures unlikely to win approval in California

A new poll shows that there is "little chance" that a pair of dueling sports betting measures in California will be approved by voters next month, according to a front-page piece by Luna & Willon of the L.A. TIMES. Online sports gambling companies, California tribes and card rooms "have spent" more than $410M on Proposition 26 and 27. But the poll from the UC Berkley Institute of Governmental Studies shows it is not likely voters "will approve either measure." Proposition 26 "would allow in-person sports betting at tribal casinos and horse racing tracks." It earned only 31% support from likely voters, compared with 42% opposed, according to the Berkeley survey of 6,939 likely California voters. Proposition 27, which would allow online sports wagering, "fared even worse -- 27% of likely voters in support and 53% opposed." Backers of the measures have "inundated voters with ads and blown away previous state campaign spending records in the process, but they faced an uphill battle from the start" (L.A. TIMES, 10/4).