California could see online poker rooms soon

Thirteen out of the fourteen Native American tribes of California have finally made up their minds in regards to a bill that would regulate the online poker card rooms in the Golden state. Californian Native American tribes have been waiting for other states, such as Nevada, to regulate this industry and see the results and consequences from reopening a banned market. The thirteen California's tribes have reached an agreement to bring online poker to one of the most lucrative and, of course, the biggest market in the United States. The tribes decided to submit a letter to the State Senators Lou Correa and Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer, as these two politicians have been the creators of the online poker bill in California (Lou Correa's Senate Bill 1366 and Jones-Sawyer's Assembly Bill 2291). The majority of the Native American tribes from California agreed on continuing with the legislation on online poker card rooms as these are the only market that is now offering other channels for land-base casinos and poker rooms to get to their customers.

The tribes from California interested in a new legislation for the online poker industry wrote to the State government emphasizing the fact that California is one of the main technologic states in the US as Silicon Valley is the world's hub for the electronic and computing sciences: "As you know, this journey has been long and difficult, but the challenges posed by the Internet demand that we harness rather than cede the technology of the future for California and for our tribal communities. In achieving consensus for Internet poker, we reaffirm our commitment to the longstanding principle of limited gaming that has guided California's public policy toward gaming."

Both bills for Senate 1366 and Assembly 2291 must pass by 2/3 of the votes. The opposition however is coming from others like Sheldon Adelson and his coalition, using the characteristic double morality of the United States to paint online gambling as an illegal practice against morality. The California's tribes that agreed to open the online poker market will not forget that Sheldon Adelson, a Jewish entrepreneur owner of the biggest casinos in the United States, has build up his empire by mixing business and corruption.

However, not only Sheldon Adelson and the groups of morality are against this bill in California. The Morongo Band of Mission Indians, a Native American tribe from Riverside County, has decided not to join the letter; the tribe seems to be more interested in its coalition with Poker Stars. However, if California's online poker bill passed, the company would be immediately included in the Bad Actor clause and banned from the US market. In a written statement, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians stated: "Efforts by a select few interests to rewrite longstanding and effective policy in order to gain a competitive market advantage or to lock out specific companies is not in the best interests of consumers or the state and will be vigorously opposed by our coalition, online poker players and many others".