Capitol Weekly Backs Online Poker Legislation
Written by Renee K | Saturday, May 1st, 2010
An article that appeared in this week’s Capitol Weekly (the newspaper of California government and politics) backed the introduction of a legal and regulated online poker industry in the state. The article, entitled The Case for Legalizing and Regulating Internet Poker outlines the issues facing California and argues that the state is losing out on millions of dollars by not taking a piece of the pie.
The author, Brian Fadem shows that two million Californians play poker on the internet and yet all of them play at foreign sites. “Worse, neither the state of California nor legal land based gaming operators in the State receive a penny from the multi billion online poker industry that operates from foreign locations,” he writes.
The article outlines the reasons why online poker is so popular among Californians, including its fast pace and its presence in mainstream media (“poker is the third most watched spot on cable television).
Fadem argues that it is about time that California considers legalizing and regulating internet poker in order to “protect players, to protect legitimate land based licensees and to protect the financial interests of the state.”
He says that before any changes can be made, the Legislature needs to consider certain issues such as player safety and certainty, technology and payment. He believes that once these issues have been ironed out, online poker has the potential of generating $500 million in gross revenues, and the state could take as much as 20% of this income.
The article touches on the issue of opposition by Indian tribes to online poker. Fadem argues that these tribes have no grounds for exclusivity claims when the game moves into the realm of the internet.
“There are many different issues to be debated and resolved before legalizing and regulating internet poker,” concludes the author. “But it’s important for that debate to occur – before it’s too late.”
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· Written by Renee K · Filed Under Poker Gossip · Comments Off
