New online poker legislation expected to be resubmitted in California

The californian online poker bills SB51 and SB678 are going to reach their two-year session, but new legislation is expected to be resubmitted in February, with the support of the state’s tribal leaders.

The two bills, sponsored by Senator Rod Wright (SB51) and Senator Lou Correa (SB678) are expected to be slightly modified before being submitted again under different numbers before February 24th. Both bills had encountered opposition from the influential tribal communities, who have recently been working with Senator Wright and Senator Correa to alter the langue of each bill to better represent their businesses.  “This gives us more time to make sure we have a thorough bill, a complete bill, and a bill that everyone agrees on,” said Jerome Encinas, director of Encinas Governmental Affairs.

Tribal opposition has been cited as one of the main hurdles to California going live with egaming. But with their support some believe the state will legalize online poker later this year. “This is the year. This is definitely the year. We have got some much momentum and the mood has changed dramatically. The focus and the shift has come full circle and people are really excited about getting something done this year,” said Encinas. According to a recent report published by Eilers Research, the Californian online market could be worth $400m by 2020.

Source : eGRMagazine