Earlier this week the Sacramento Bee newspaper published a largely negative op-ed piece on internet poker legalisation titled “Gray’s internet poker bill is a losing hand,” prompting a clearly irritable riposte from California Assemblyman Adam Gray, who has – so far unsuccessfully – invested a significant amount of time in trying to create a consensus among the diverse parties interested in the project.
Defending his bill AB2863, Gray suggested that the op-ed had missed the point, observing that millions of Californians are engaging in gambling in various legal and illegal forms, noting that California is the high-tech centre of the world, and pointing out that the state’s antiquated gambling laws “hardly even recognize the invention of the Internet.”
Gray continued: “We can continue to endure the status quo, where Internet gambling goes unregulated, untaxed and where no consumer protections exist, or we can try to bring some sense of order to the entire gambling industry in the state.
“If The Bee deems the current situation to be in the public’s interest, then say so. If The Bee believes gambling should be outlawed, then say that and editorialize for state and local law enforcement to be given the resources to stop it.
“But stop having it both ways. It makes you sound like the politicians who promise to cut taxes but expand programs at the same time.
“The voters, and your readers, are not that naïve.”