California Internet Poker Discussion Feb 9.
Written by Roger S | Friday, January 29th, 2010
A number of important issues relating to internet poker in California will be discussed by the Senate Governmental Organization Committee when it meets next on February 9th. Numerous speakers have been invited to take part in the special meeting, but no lineup has been finalized as yet.
Issues to be discussed include the compatibility of internet poker with tribal compacts and federal gaming laws.
According to gaming attorney Martin Owens, over 1.4 million Californians play poker online through offshore sites.
“You’ve got something like a billion dollars leaving the state every year that does nobody any good except the offshore operators,” Owens said. “Internet gambling is here to stay. The only rational thing to do is organize it, license it, supervise it—and by all means, get the benefits.”
One of the biggest hurdles facing the legalization of internet poker in California is the adaptation to federal laws. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) bans the use of credit cards and fund transfers for online gambling. However, poker proponents do not seem to see a problem here and point to an exception clause in the UIGEA which specifically relates to ‘intrastate’ gaming. This means that online gambling and poker playing could essentially take place within the borders of a specific state as long as the location of the players and operators can be identified.
Another hurdle standing in the way of a legal online poker framework in California is tribal conflict. While the Morongo Tribe has made efforts to drum up support for intrastate online poker, it has been met with opposition by other tribes.
“The other tribes don’t want it at all,” said Vin Naryanan, editor of the Casino City publication. “As far as they’re concerned, it violates the state compact they have. They’re worried that if people are gambling online, they won’t make it out to the tribal casinos.”
Yet Nayaran believes that California is the perfect place to begin trying out the concept of intrastate poker online. “California is one of the few states big enough that there’s no player liquidity problems,” he said. “California is the perfect test case for this.”
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· Written by Roger S · Filed Under Poker Gossip · Comments Off
