For months now, things continue to boil when it comes to California sports betting and the push against prediction markets. As most of you are aware by now, Governor Gavin Newsom has not been pleased with those particular markets being operated in California, as it goes against the state's current betting laws. Well, the fact of the matter here is that California now has even more support against the prediction markets fight.

Why is that? In case you missed it, New Mexico has launched a new lawsuit against Kalshi, claiming it is breaking laws. With that, the state is pushing for Kalshi to get banned in New Mexico, which is something that is also being worked on in California. Why does this matter for The Golden State? Because this is yet another state that is taking legal action to get the wheels in motion, and California is ready for a splash to be made.

As things stand, legal betting is not permitted in New Mexico via online platforms. People can place their wagers at authorized in-person sportsbooks, but if they are 21 years old. The issue with Kalshi and other prediction markets is that people who are 18 years old are allowed to take part in the betting action, so it's a bit of a double whammy against the state. Now, imagine things for California where there's no legal sports betting, period.

The phrase 'loophole' has been used quite a bit, as people all over California indeed are finding a way to be a bit sneaky here and place some future bets. This kind of betting action took off during last football season, especially with Super Bowl betting being so popular. This is something that local lawmakers want to see halted as soon as possible. If anything, California and New Mexico could now look to work together a bit to make sure a 180 is posted here with the prediction markets.

The number of lawsuits filed against the prediction markets are quite telling

When taking a look at things as a whole, there's no question at all that the number of lawsuits filed against the prediction markets are quite telling. California has some in place, as they're ready for change to arrive soon. New Mexico has become the latest state to do so, but things haven't stopped there. That's right, things have been spread across several states, in multiple different regions as well.

For now, California, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Illinois, Washington state and others have presented some form of legal displeasure against prediction markets, with Kalshi being at the center here. It's important to keep in mind that Kalshi, among others, is legal at the Federal level. Because of that, they technically are not breaking laws, nor at the people in those respective states where they are placing wager.

However, the issue here is that people are placing sports bets in states through Kalshi where things are not legal. Right now, there are 33 states in the USA with legal sports betting online, with Wisconsin being the latest to give things the green light. It's important to remember, however, that things are yet to officially launch in the Badger State. The hope is that things will be finalized there by the time football season arrives. In total, sports betting is allowed as a whole in 39 states.

What's next for the California sports betting push?

The $1 million question that everyone keeps asking themselves is what's next for the California sports betting push? At this time, things remain quite unclear, as no new updates have come in this week on things one way or the other. However, it seems that the local tribes are still doing what they can to see if maybe things can get over the line in 2028.

Barring a shocker, nothing will get done sooner than that, as that appears to be the date that the tribes have in mind. In order for things to start moving in the right direction, though, the right kind of sports betting bill will need to get written up and introduced. There will then need to be support from both Republicans and Democrats, while also winning over the voting public.

It wasn't long ago that there were two different sports betting bills on a November ballot, but they both failed. Until things change there, people will keep checking the top NFL sportsbooks for odds, but not make legal wagers in the state if they decide to move forward in doing so. Will 2028 finally be the year where California is able to right things wrong? We sure hope so, but things remain quite up in the air there.