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If California is going to legalize online poker in 2016, the current bill needs to pass by August 31.
That’s because the legislative session ends on that date.
On Wednesday, the LA Times outlined what needs to take place in order for Internet poker to be legalized in the state:
The bill, AB 2863, made it through the Assembly committee process but is awaiting a vote on the Assembly floor, where it needs a two-thirds majority — 54 votes — to pass. Few bills in Sacramento can muster that kind of bipartisan support, and gambling legislation is almost always controversial.
2016 showed the most promise since efforts to legalize Web poker in California began ten years ago.
A measure by Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced) would allow state Internet poker licenses to be granted to already established card rooms and casinos operated by some 60 Native American tribes.
There is, however, a “suitability” test. It is one that a key player looking to partner with a good chunk of the established properties simply cannot pass.
PokerStars, the largest real money online poker room, operated in the United States following passage of a law that prohibited the targeting of US citizens. PokerStars parent company, Amaya Gaming, is also implicated in an insider trading scandal out of Canada.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
