California Democrats Want To Ban Fantasy Sports - While Keeping Biological Boys In Girls’ Sports | Steve Hilton

This is how crazy things have gotten in California: The Democrats in charge here have decided that you playing in a fantasy sports league is a danger to society. But biological boys playing in girls’ sports - that’s totally fine. 

California Attorney General Rob Bonta just announced that online daily fantasy sports platforms are illegal under state law, and he’s threatening them with prosecution if they keep operating. You would think that a state where stores now have to lock up toothpaste and Twinkies thanks to out-of-control crime might have better priorities. But follow the money, and the real reason for the insane crackdown on fantasy sports becomes clear.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA), which represents powerful tribal casino interests, has long opposed online gaming and fantasy sports. Earlier this month, the group urged state leaders to "back up the legal opinion with strong enforcement and that lawbreakers be held to account." CNIGA’s members have donated a total of $334,700 to Rob Bonta throughout his political career, according to campaign finance records. That includes $71,800 given toward his 2026 reelection campaign for Attorney General. By contrast, online fantasy sports platforms have contributed nothing to Bonta’s campaigns.

Think about the priorities here. California Democrats want to ban fantasy sports leagues while insisting that it’s perfectly fine for biological males to compete in girls’ sports, take their scholarships, and share their locker rooms. What a perfect example of the far-left ideological extremism you get after 15 years of one-party rule.

ATLANTA - University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines react after finishing tied for 5th in the 200 Freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center.  (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Bonta’s 33-page opinion is riddled with falsehoods, fallacies and misinterpretations concerning the nature of fantasy sports.

The basis of Bonta’s argument is Section 337a of the California Penal Code, an outdated measure from 1909 that targeted "the ruinous effect of racetrack gambling." But today’s fantasy sports competitors – a thriving community of young, passionate and analytically inclined sports fans – hardly resemble the caricature of ‘chain-smoking degenerate gamblers’ of the early 20th century.

Unlike casino games like blackjack and craps, where the odds are stacked in favor of "the house," fantasy sports are contests of skill. Players compete against one another to build a competitive roster of athletes, constrained by salary caps and other factors taken into account by real-life general managers.

NEW YORK - Former NFL player Rich Gannon, Sirius XM radio host Adam Schein, and Sirius XM radio's Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo attend the SIRIUS XM Radio celebrity fantasy football draft at Hard Rock Cafe - Times Square on July 21, 2010.  (Photo by Mark Von Holden/Getty Images for SIRIUS XM Radio)

Fantasy sports are strategy-intensive competitions in which players can improve with knowledge and practice. A person’s skill is the primary determinant of whether they’ll win over time. It’s more like entering a golf tournament than buying a lottery ticket.

This fact is not only obvious to the more than 70 million fantasy sports fans across the country - but to the 45 states where daily fantasy sports are currently legal.

Let’s be clear about what is happening. Bonta and the Democrats have no problem telling a mom or dad they are criminals for joining a fantasy football league. But they see nothing wrong with the shocking story we heard from California’s central coast recently: a teenage girl, standing in the locker room with some friends when a teenage biological boy walked in, got changed and stood naked just feet away. When the girl complained, she was the one who got punished. When she tried to tell her story at the local school board meeting, she was silenced.

You tolerate that while banning fantasy? You’ve not only lost your mind - you’ve lost all your moral bearings. It is completely offensive to the vast majority of people - in California as well as right across the country.

California’s ruling class loves to regulate the things ordinary people enjoy while turning a blind eye to obvious unfairness and harm. These people will lecture you about the supposed dangers of fantasy sports while ignoring real threats to girls’ safety, dignity, and opportunity.

As governor, I will end this lunacy. I will protect fantasy sports so adults can enjoy a harmless game without fear of fines or prosecution. It’s time for California to join the vast majority of other states that have figured this out responsibly.

More than that, I will work to make California the best place in America for sports, innovation, fun…everything that makes life worth living. 

Steve Hilton attends the Los Angeles premiere of "Reagan" at TCL Chinese Theatre on August 20, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Robin L Marshall/FilmMagic)

Just as importantly, I will end the cruel and unfair practice of allowing biological males in girls’ sports and spaces. This all stems from a 2013 law, AB 1266, which is now part of California’s Education Code. If the legislature won’t overturn it, as governor, I will do so through filing suit on the grounds that this appalling law violates California’s state constitution: Section 28 which guarantees safe schools, and Section 31 which prohibits gender discrimination.

Californians are sick of the arrogance and nonsense of Democrat rule: the endless rules, regulations and bureaucracy that make up our bloated nanny state - all paid for with America’s highest taxes that deliver the worst results.

California was known the world over as the land of dreams and opportunity, and once I’m elected next year we will be well on the way to making this state, in the words of my campaign theme, truly Golden Again. 

That starts with standing up to the Democrats’ destructive, out-of-touch political machine that has forgotten who it is supposed to serve. It is time for common sense in California.

Steve Hilton is a candidate for governor of California /  @stevehiltonx / stevehiltonforgovernor.com