PokerStars blames lack of cohesion between Native American tribes

PokerStars blames lack of cohesion between Native American tribes for online poker regulation’s failure

PokerStars, which teamed up with tribal casino Morongo in the Golden State, is declining any responsibility in the failure of legalizing online poker in California. According to the leading online poker operator, the failure is due to the lack of harmony between stakeholders.

Online poker will not be legalize this year as the bill to regulate the activity has been withdrawn last August. Legalization of online gambling has thus been put on hold until 2015 at the earliest. According to leading operator PokerStars, which has been blamed by some people lately arguing that the ‘bad actor’ clause was one of the main issues, the failure is due to the lack of “universal support for legalization”.

“No, PokerStars was not responsible for the collapse of online poker legislation. There were many factors at play. Although consensus towards Internet poker was at its strongest in the last few years, it was still not universal”, Garry Templer, PokerStars’ director of group strategy and business development, told eGR North America. “Legislation will only happen in California when there is agreement upon a need for a competitive marketplace that allows all interests, large and small, to compete fairly and responsibly and in a manner that makes a fair contribution to the state”, he added. The lack of cohesion among Native American Tribes mentioned by PokerStars is one of the main reasons that led Senator Lou Correa and Assembly Man Reggie Jones-Sawyer to withdraw their online poker bill before the legislative session ended. A new bill is to be introduced by Reggie Jones-Saywer in December.

Source: eGR North America