Tribal gaming chief pessimistic on Californian online poker

March 17, 2015

Although calling for legalised and regulated online poker in California, the chairman of the Santa Ysabel Tribal Gaming Commission, Dave Vialpando, opined this week that it was unlikely that such a goal will be achieved in 2015, blaming the self-interest of many of the gambling groups involved. Vialpando observed in a statement: “Too many potential […]

California tribes protest internet poker bill

March 12, 2015

Disagreement over what form online poker legalisation should take in California continued this week with six tribal gambling groups expressing their opposition to Rep. Reggie Jones-Sawyer’s AB167 proposal. The first group to note their disapproval in a communication with Jones-Sawyer was the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation in San Diego, apparently acting independently. That […]

Online poker legalisation – a third Californian bill launched

February 20, 2015

The Californian online poker legalisation scene just became more interesting following the introduction in the state House and Senate of a new bill authored by two powerful state politicians. State Sen. Isadore Hall and Assemblyman Adam Gray are respectively the chairs of the Senate and the House Governmental Organization committees, putting considerable clout behind the […]

Bad actor balance shifting in California?

February 13, 2015

Bad actor clauses – usually focused on companies that continued to serve US players post-UIGEA – have divided and disrupted constructive debate on the legalisation of online poker in California for years, with some tribal groups strongly supporting the concept, and others equally vehemently opposing it. This week during the 20th Western Indian Gaming Conference […]

Tribal unity urged in California

February 12, 2015

The focus on legalised online poker in California was very obvious in the first days of the 20th Western Indian Gaming Conference currently taking place in Sacramento, with the chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, Daniel Tucker, calling for tribal unity on the issue – something that has been notably lacking as individual […]

Pokerstars California poker alliance spaks on new bill

January 27, 2015

The re-introduction of Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer’s AB167 Internet Consumer Protection Act of 2015 seeking to regulate and licence online poker in California (see previous  report) has been welcomed by the coalition of Pokerstars and tribal and card room groups in the Golden State. The alliance consists of Pokerstars and Full Tilt, along with the San […]

New online poker bill introduced in California

January 23, 2015

California Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, a veteran state politician who has been in the forefront of previous (failed) online poker legalisation drives, has introduced a new bill to the Californian House. Titled AB 167, the bill takes a more moderate approach to that adopted by Assemblyman Mike Gatto in a similar initiative (AB 9) that is […]

Early start for California online poker legalisation

December 3, 2014

The debate on internet poker legalisation is once again in the California headlines as the state embarks on its fourth year of deliberations on the controversial topic, which involves tribal, racing, online and card room interests. The move Tuesday came from Assemblyman Mike Gatto, a respected state politician who had a bill ready to go […]

California horse racing chief has hopes for online poker

November 18, 2014

Josh Rubenstein, a senior exec with the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in California discussed the positive possibilities for legalised Californian online poker this week with the publication California Online Poker, opining that a properly structured licensing regime has the potential to benefit all of the state’s gaming bodies. Rubenstein explained that horse racing, which employs […]

First real-money online poker in California delayed

August 29, 2014

The much publicised and controversial launch of the tribally inspired PrivateTable.com real-money poker enterprise – due for launch in California this week – has been delayed for at least another seven days. Reporting on the delay, the online poker information site California Online Poker reveals that it contacted the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel (the […]