Anyone in the Century City and Westwood area knows what a great place California is to live. Blessed with great weather, stunning beaches, superb culture and a laid-back atmosphere, it really is a fabulous place to spend time.
This only remains in place though with proper management of California by politicians at a state level. One major part of this is managing revenue sources effectively, so enough funds are generated to keep California functioning. This also ensures state officials have enough money to fund new public works and maintain the state’s infrastructure. While most major revenue streams in California have been exploited, some remain untapped.
But which streams might this include?
Legal sports betting
Anyone who knows about sports betting in the different US states, knows that it is not currently legal in California – yet! This is something of a conundrum for people in Century City, LA and Cali in general. This is a state after all which not only has a love for sports but also an appetite for betting on them. For this reason, we expect that it won’t be long until legal sports betting is approved in California.
The current landscape in California though does mean it is a major untapped revenue stream for state officials. You only need to consider the amount of money it has generated for states where betting is legal to see this. In the first four months of legal sports betting in New York for example, over $7bn was made in sports handle and $263m was generated in tax revenue. This shows what a goldmine legal sports betting could be for California and what an untapped source of revenue it currently is.
Online casino gaming
Another untapped revenue stream which state officials could turn to is online casino gaming. Although Daily Fantasy Sports and social casinos are legal, playing real money games at online casinos is not. A change in stance on this could represent one way of making more cash for the state though.
As with legal sports betting, making real money online casino games/platforms legal would pull huge amounts into state coffers. This would be in the form of taxes and license fees applied to online casino operators. It is likely that this would generate many millions each year and give officials in California another new revenue stream to rely on.
Natural energy sector
Another major untapped source of revenue for the Golden State is the production of natural energy. California has been a state most closely associated with fossil fuels in the past, especially oil, but this is an energy source which is on its way out. Although this does have an impact in the state for jobs, protecting the environment in California is not something to ignore.
Could the natural energy market help to create new jobs as well as generate much-needed revenues? After all, sunshine is not in short supply for solar power here – and the coastline California has means wind and water power are available too.
In terms of revenue generation, the state could tap into the natural energy market by either producing its own energy from natural sources to sell on or apply licensing fees and taxes on natural energy suppliers in the state. This could lead to state officials having a lot more money to improve the standard of living throughout California.
Alternative agriculture
We all know that California is a big state for agriculture and is a global producer of wine, nuts and fruit. But could it be ignoring a potentially lucrative new revenue stream in the form of alternative agriculture?
By examining this market and making it attractive for companies involved in it to set up in California, state officials could not only generate more personal tax from the staff of these companies, but also more corporation and food tax from the companies themselves.
A good example of this is the global seaweed market. This is a massive market worldwide and one that could be lucrative in California – if only officials would change state laws to make it easier for businesses to farm for it!
Untapped resources could be just what California needs
Although previous years might have been budget surplus years for the Golden State, many are now fearing an economic downturn in California. This mainly relates to the state’s famously volatile tax revenues coming in at under their forecast levels for 2022/23. If this is the case, tapping into resources such as those above could be the ideal way to offset any financial woes.
