The respected online poker blogger Marco Valerio, who’s US information is usually both early and accurate, has reported that a former tribal land casino operator in San Diego is poised to launch a real-money online poker site titled PrivateTable.com today (Monday).
The Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel will be licensed by the Santa Ysabel Gaming Commission, which also regulated its federally acknowledged land gambling operation, a venture that reportedly went bust earlier this year.
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission is apparently also involved in what a press release from the tribe describes as an inter-jurisdictional agreement regarding the involvement of Santa Ysabel Interactive, the company behind the tribal online enterprise.
The Iipay would like to see online poker legalised in California, but are invoking tribal sovereignty and the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act as the authority for their new online initiative, which is to be powered by IG Soft (formerly Dobrosoft) and based on the reservation.
Californian residents over the age of 18 will have access to the site, but the cautious and in places seemingly contradictory wording on the site leaves room for interpretation as to whether players from ‘other approved jurisdictions’ will be able to play, given depositing requirements which are restricted to California.
The same careful wording appears to exclude most US states and those European nations that have implemented national online gambling regulatory and licensing regimes.
Two online poker regulatory bills are currently at committee stage in the California legislature, with a third tribally influenced proposal reportedly in the wings (see previous reports).
Reports last week suggest that if any of these bills are to succeed they must be pushed through before August 31st – the absolute state legislative deadline for measures launched this season. Bills that are not approved by the state Senate and House by the deadline are scrapped and have to be reintroduced in the next legislative session.