California Tribes Release Draft of Online Poker Bill

The California Online Poker Association was forced to dissolve last year because the tribes couldn’t come to a resolution they could all agree with. They appear to have finally worked through their differences and introduced their own bill that would regulate online poker.

The tribe released a draft of the Internet Consumer Protection Act of 2013 earlier this week first reported by California Online Poker. The bill would legalize online poker and ban all other forms of online gambling. The bill will also bar California from enjoining any federal legislation that may be passed and will permanently restrict online poker to California residents.

The new law also contains a bad actor clause. This clause would prohibit any company from operating in the state if they offered online poker to California residents before the law was passed. Players would also be charged with a misdemeanor if they played on an unregulated site.

A number of other groups have a stake in online poker and would be reluctant to support a law that doesn’t work to their benefit. These experts believe that different groups are going to challenge this bill. The bill would restrict online gaming licenses to tribes and card rooms that have held gaming licenses for at least five years before the law is passed. Newer gaming establishments would be likely to object to that provision.

Two other bills have been introduced this year. Lawmakers will wait to see how much support they receive from the various stakeholder groups before they move forward. They are also watching developments in Nevada to determine what changes may be necessary to create a functional online poker industry.

This blog entry was posted on Friday, May 17th, 2013 at 2:50 am and is filed under Casino News.