Quality witness list for today’s legalisation hearing in California

June 24, 2015

Pennsylvania Assemblyman Adam Gray, who chairs the Assembly Government Organization Committee hearing later today (24 June) in California, has gathered together a formidable list of expert witnesses who will impart their knowledge during the afternoon session. Our readers can tune in to the audio stream on the hearing from 1.30pm Eastern Standard Time here: http://assembly.ca.gov/listen/4202-audio […]

California online poker coaltion goes on the offensive

June 19, 2015

A new online poker legalisation initiative, dubbed Californians for Responsible iPoker has launched, supported by a website at www.californians4ipoker.com. Funded and managed by the pro-online poker legalisation coalition consisting of Pokerstars and its parent group Amaya Gaming, the Morongo and San Manuel Bands of Mission Indians and the Bicycle, Commerce and Hawaiian Gardens cardrooms, the […]

Four Republican senators in Pennsylvania support legalised online poker

June 4, 2015

Four Republican senators in Pennsylvania, led by state Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, are preparing to introduce legislation to allow Internet gambling, according to the publication Philly.com. The forthcoming bill was advertised Wednesday in a memo to fellow senators advising that the new measure will permit existing Pennsylvania casinos to offer Internet gambling. Players […]

More detail now available on new Pennsylvania poker bill

June 2, 2015

Pennsylvanian Senator Sean Wiley’s draft proposal on gambling (see previous  report) includes provisions for the regulation and licensing of online gambling, more details on which have become available this week. Wiley is focused on internet poker, and online casino gaming is excluded from his legalisation drive, which envisages fully regulated and licensed online poker available […]

California online gambling legalisation bill makes it out of committee

May 29, 2015

California Assemblyman Adam Gray’s AB431 online poker legalisation bill made it out of its second Assembly committee – the Appropriations Committee – Thursday although interested parties and committee members remain divided on its future content. Early but still unconfirmed reports indicated that the 17-member committee, made up of 12 Democrats and 5 Republicans, progressed the […]

Interest groups manouvre for advantage in California

May 27, 2015

The sharp differences of opinion among two of California’s main alliances on the legalisation of online poker was demonstrated yet again this week when the Pechanga tribal coalition sought to halt the advance of the favoured legalisation bill, AB431, out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee where it currently sits, and the Morongo-Pokerstars-Cardroom grouping which wants […]

California regulators confident on handling legalised online poker

May 21, 2015

Wednesday’s informational hearing on internet poker by California’s joint Senate-Assembly Governmental Organization committees (see previous  reports) was told by the state gambling regulator that, in partnership with the California Department of Justice, legalised online poker… and who is suitable for licensing…can be impartially and professionally regulated. Tiffany Conklin of the California Gambling Control Commission voiced […]

New York senator back with another online poker legalisation bill

May 16, 2015

New York state Senator John Bonacic is taking another run at intrastate legalised online poker with the introduction this week of bill S5302, a measure that is almost identical to the Senator’s proposal last year but with one critically important difference….it does not include a “bad actor” clause. Instead, the bill makes the New York […]

Unions could influence online poker legalisation in California

May 10, 2015

This week saw the emergence of a powerful new element in the debate on internet poker legalisation in California – the Teamsters and Service Employee International Union (SEIU), a trade union representing the interests of some 50,000 workers in the horse racing industry. Union representative Barry Broad told the publication Online Poker Report this week […]

California online poker legalisation bill examined

May 6, 2015

The surge of enthusiasm at the news that an online poker legalisation bill has at last managed to make it through a legislative committee in California (see previous reports) has given way to a pragmatic assessment of AB431 – the bill in question. Proposer Assemblyman Adam Gray (who is also chair of the Assembly Governmental […]