Californian Senate Sets Date for Online Poker Hearing
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The California State Senate will meet on the 29th of June to hear proposals for creating state-only online poker rooms. In May, the Senate introduced a bill which could potentially legalise online poker in California. Given the scale of California’s budget deficit ($19 billion), the Senate agreed that the proposed legislation, which is known as Bill 1845, should be given priority status, meaning that legislation could potentially be introduced immediately. Later this month, the Senate will meet to discuss the proposal, which could mean residents in California would be able to play online poker legally.
However, the Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations (TASIN) has spoken out against the bill. TASIN protects the rights of “federally recognized tribes throughout the State of California”, including tribes such as The Morongo Band of Mission Indians, which runs the Morongo casino and resort in the state. Patrick Dorinson, a spokesperson for Morongo, has noted that the tribe “cannot support the bill in its present form”, but also observed that they have “always supported the concept of intrastate poker in California because of consumer protections, revenue to the state and the fact it would bring the game out of the shadows”. One of the key concerns of the Morongo tribe is the possibility that offshore poker websites could be allowed to run sites for Californian residents. According to Dorinson, allowing remote gambling operators to offer their services “would take money out of the state”.
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