The excitement when it comes to the World Cup is reaching new heights, as the best players in the world will be taking center stage soon enough. There will be plenty of games in California too, with top talent showcasing their skills in Los Angeles and San Francisco in the huge tournament. While on one hand this is a good thing for the state as a whole, it's safe to say that the World Cup betting projections will be trouble for California officials.

Why is this an issue for California betting, you ask? Because with the prediction markets in particular, there's expected to be a rise in wagers that are being put down over the next few weeks. And things are only going to heat up once the World Cup officially gets underway. In a new report from the Dallas Morning News, it was reported that more than $30 million is expected to be bet on the World Cup through apps like Kalshi and others.

Why does this matter so much for California? Because the expectation is that the state who currently down have legal sports betting will be impacted the most there. Texas is on the list, as in-person sports betting and online sports betting are not legal. The same things can be said for California, as it's up in the air when things will be brought to the state. Because of this, prediction markets continue to thrive inside of state lines.

This is something that government officials are against, which is why multiple lawsuits have been presented. With the expected figures arriving for World Cup betting too, it's only going to add to the stress in trying to get things shut down. However, things are moving at a snail's pace there, which is not good for the push back at all. The fact of the matter here is that California is hosting plenty of World Cup games and local citizens are ready to bet on things, even though it is illegal overall.

California will be hosting 14 World Cup games this year

It's easy to understand the surge in soccer interest in the state, as California will be hosting 14 World Cup games this year. On the schedule, there are eight games played in Los Angeles, and six in San Francisco. This includes the U.S. Men's National team suiting up in LA, which of course has people talking. There's plenty of pressure on the USA in trying to play well with it being a host country.

It's not just the group stages that people are interested in. Los Angeles will be hosting two Round of 32 games and a quarterfinals showdown. Meanwhile for San Francisco, a Round of 32 contest will be taking place at Levi's Stadium in addition to the previously mentioned group stage games. This adds to the intrigue for both cities.

And with knockout games taking place in California too, it could entice people to get their World Cup futures bets in. With the World Cup around the corner, soccer betting as a whole is going to be on the rise and people in California will be quick to get their wagers in through the prediction markets. This feels like a big concern, but no changes will be coming before things get underway. It will be interesting to see just how much is going to be bet on in California for this huge event.

California's lawsuit against the prediction markets hasn't moved at all

What makes this all even more frustrating across the board is that California's lawsuit against the prediction markets hasn't moved at all. Originally, three local tribes took legal action against Kalshi, claiming people were using their apps on tribal lands. As a whole, though, sports betting is illegal in California too, which had others livid as well.

California has worked hard to prevent sports betting from getting legalized for now, but with prediction markets being backed at the Federal level, it has allowed California citizens to place sports bets, while also getting involved with political betting as well. The political betting has caused for all sorts of issues in the state.

With things a bit in flux here, it has left everyone guessing on what the future for betting on the prediction markets will have in store. Plenty of people are working tirelessly to get things banned in California, with other states following suit as well. For now, nothing has changed and it doesn't look like a resolution will be coming on things in the near future. We know for sure it won't arrive before the World Cup gets underway.