California moves forward on online poker

Two new online poker bills have been introduced in California bringing online poker back on the golden state's agenda. California could be the next US state to regulate online gaming as both, New Jersey and Nevada, have already proven that anti online gaming campaigns are, from tip to toe, wrong.

Playing from home to one of the most popular card games in history has to be an option that, nowadays, should not be considered illegal as poker networks and operators are offering these services all around the world; and that is exactly what California's State legislators are fighting for: to pass the online gambling bill this same year 2014. California is slowly getting closer to an online gambling bill although the two new bills, AB2291 and SB1366, introduced last month on February 24th, are both on the lookout for an online regulation for the poker networks and operators. Both bills are sponsored by Senator Correa and Assemblyman Reginald Jones Sawyer. The bills were submitted to legislature seeking to regulate online poker in California backed by a coalition of some of Native American tribes, led by the Pechanga Band of Luiseño California Indians. Bill AB2291 has received the support from eight of these tribes and would grant them non-transferable licenses for 10 years. The other online poker bill, SB1366, has been sponsored by Senator Lou Correa and, in the same way to a previous SB678 bill, legislation will set up the state tax on 10% of GGR.

However, California is still one of the oddest states in the country as idiosyncrasy and peculiarities are part of the main character of Californians; last year, similar bills failed to pass as Californians only saw online poker as a potential danger, disregarding the fact that the internet poker market is providing Nevada and New Jersey with vast revenues. Bill AB 2291 is also one of those contradictions that one can see too often in this golden state of California as this bill is banning any other forms of online gambling that are not part of the online poker network. This bill is also requesting the state to opt out of any federal online gambling law.