It has been a decade since the state of California has tried to pass online poker gaming legislation, continuing to fail time and time again. This year, a new poker bill has been introduced, titled the Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act. Proposed by Assemblymember Reginald Jones-Sawyer, the bill seems to be the same as a bill introduced in 2016 to allow online poker to be legalized in the state.
The new legislation has a goal of building on progress that has been made in the state in recent years. There are several interested parties in the state that have to be appeased in order for online gaming to work. This includes Indian tribes, card rooms, legislators and race tracks. In the past, the horse racing industry seemed fine with a provision that would give them $60 million in revenue sharing for not taking part but the Native American tribes cannot seem to come to an agreement as to how regulations should be created.
In general, some tribes do not want to see such companies as PokerStars taking part in online poker gaming. They feel that they would have an unfair advantage as they already conducted such operations in the past. However, there are tribes that are in favor of companies like PokerStars with some already having partnered with the brand in the hopes that the industry will finally be created in the state.
Tribal gaming is big business in California, bringing in almost $8 billion each year. It is the largest market of its kind in the United States. In the state, there are around 60 tribal casinos in operation and almost 100 when you factor in poker gaming.
Now, it’s simply a waiting game to see if the legislation will be approved and move forward. It seems that there is always something in the way of the state passing a bill into law in order to get started offering online poker gaming.
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