Another Online Gaming Bill Introduced in California

12:06
20 Feb

The potential for the legalisation and regulation of online poker in the US state of California has been boosted following the introduction of a third bill into the state’s parliament. The bill actually consists of two parallel bills that have been introduced in both houses of the state’s legislature, the Senate and the Assembly.

Known as the Senate Bill 278 and Assembly Bill 431, the bills were introduced on Thursday by State Senator Isadore Hall and Assemblyman Adam Gray.

In a statement regarding the introduction of the latest bill, both State Senator Hall and Assemblyman Gray said that their bill specifically calls for the establishment and regulation of online poker in California.

Our bills do not take one entity’s side over another. Our bills will give the Legislature, the Governor, tribal governments, other gaming entities, technology providers and the public an opportunity to have an open, honest and thorough debate on this issue. We support an iPoker bill which establishes a vibrant, competitive, fully inclusive marketplace with choices for consumers, and which also enacts strong consumer protections onlinepokerreport.com;
Another statement from the Amaya, Morongo, San Manuel and card room coalition outlined their support for the bill and reiterated their hope that online poker would be legalised in the state before the end of the year.
Instead of using the legislative process to pick winners and losers, any successful legislation must allow for a variety of providers to participate in the market while relying on regulators to determine strict suitability standards. onlinepokerreport.com;
Two other bills which aim to legalise and regulate online gaming and poker in California are also before the state’s Assembly.
The first bill, AB9, was introduced in December and excludes horse racing while the second bill, AB 167, which was tabled late last month, permits horse racing along with most other forms of gaming.
While having three separate bills to be discussed and voted on does increase the possibility of the legalisation and regulation of online poker in California, it is in no way a guarantee.
The first two bills have already seen their fair share of detractors, mainly over the horse racing issue, while the latest bill is quite short on detail and substance. That means that the issue of online poker regulation is likely to be debated and fleshed out for quite some time yet and some changes to the bills may take place.
With that said, there does seem to be a momentum behind the push for online poker in California, but any legalisation and regulation will not happen until later this year at the earliest.
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