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Pauma tribe opens California's first retail sportsbook at Casino Pauma
The sportsbook opened without a new state law or regulatory change allowing sports betting. The tribe plans to add on-reservation mobile wagering.
The Pauma Band of Luiseno Indians opened California's first retail sportsbook Thursday at Casino Pauma in Valley Center, despite no new state legislative or regulatory changes that would appear to authorize sports betting.
Grove Sportsbook occupies a converted sports bar with a wall of televisions and six nearby betting kiosks, InGame reported. The kiosks are the only way to place a wager; the venue has no teller windows.
The sportsbook accepts bets on major professional and college team sports, as well as MMA, boxing, golf, soccer and tennis. The kiosks also offer in-game betting.
The tribe partnered with SCCG on the sportsbook. Former San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman placed the first bet, and the tribe plans to launch mobile sports betting on its reservation in the future.
California has not legalized sports betting. The state's tribes are seeking to place an initiative on the 2028 ballot that would legalize both digital and in-person wagering, according to InGame.
The Pauma tribe offers Class III gaming at its reservation casino under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Sports betting is not explicitly included in the act's definition of Class III gaming, and federally recognized tribes have traditionally renegotiated gaming compacts before offering it, InGame reported.
According to the California Gambling Control Commission's website, the Pauma tribe operates under secretarial procedures rather than a tribal-state compact.