The cash-strapped state that has shown willingness in the past to be a trendsetter when it comes to legislative action is ready to hold a hearing on the merits of regulating online poker. California State Sen. Roderick Wright that the state legislature is planning on holding a hearing on the issue in February.
Moreover, top casinos Commerce Casino and Morongo Tribe are amongst entities supporting the regulation. Both the Morongo tribe and Commerce hope to operate online casino poker if the legislation became law. Patrick Dorinson, Morongo Tribe's spokesperson said, “About one million Californians are playing poker offshore right now,” referencing the popularity of current online poker sites that serve US players.
Lawmakers are hesitant to predict how much intrastate online poker could bring in to the state in terms of revenue, but the state operated poker like it does its Indian-run slot machines, more than $250 million could be raised per year. If ever, California would become the first state to explicitly legalize and regulate intrastate online poker if this proposal becomes law.
On the contrary, not all groups support the proposal. Robert Smith, the chairman of the California Tribal Business Alliance said, “Card game gambling on the Internet would take business away from brick-and-mortar casinos,” . Jim Butler, executive director of an advocacy group against gambling expansion said, “If someone can come home from work and give their credit-card number to an Internet site and lose thousands of dollars, that is going to exacerbate a bad situation”.
However, The Department of Justice has long claimed that all forms of gambling on the Internet are illegal, but there is no applicable law that states such a position, and most lawyers agree that the law that the Department of Justice refers to, the Wire Act, only applies to sports betting.
A recent ruling by the U.S. third circuit court of appeals clarified that the UIGEA, which was passed in 2006, did not criminalize any forms of online gambling. That law just affects the payment processors and how money can be transferred onto sites.
While California legislators don’t appear to be intimidated by the Department Of Justice's position on online poker, U.S. law is much less vague when it comes to the operation of online gambling. State and federal laws prohibit companies from operating Web-based gambling games in the country.
Moreover, top casinos Commerce Casino and Morongo Tribe are amongst entities supporting the regulation. Both the Morongo tribe and Commerce hope to operate online casino poker if the legislation became law. Patrick Dorinson, Morongo Tribe's spokesperson said, “About one million Californians are playing poker offshore right now,” referencing the popularity of current online poker sites that serve US players.Lawmakers are hesitant to predict how much intrastate online poker could bring in to the state in terms of revenue, but the state operated poker like it does its Indian-run slot machines, more than $250 million could be raised per year. If ever, California would become the first state to explicitly legalize and regulate intrastate online poker if this proposal becomes law.
On the contrary, not all groups support the proposal. Robert Smith, the chairman of the California Tribal Business Alliance said, “Card game gambling on the Internet would take business away from brick-and-mortar casinos,” . Jim Butler, executive director of an advocacy group against gambling expansion said, “If someone can come home from work and give their credit-card number to an Internet site and lose thousands of dollars, that is going to exacerbate a bad situation”.
However, The Department of Justice has long claimed that all forms of gambling on the Internet are illegal, but there is no applicable law that states such a position, and most lawyers agree that the law that the Department of Justice refers to, the Wire Act, only applies to sports betting.
A recent ruling by the U.S. third circuit court of appeals clarified that the UIGEA, which was passed in 2006, did not criminalize any forms of online gambling. That law just affects the payment processors and how money can be transferred onto sites.
While California legislators don’t appear to be intimidated by the Department Of Justice's position on online poker, U.S. law is much less vague when it comes to the operation of online gambling. State and federal laws prohibit companies from operating Web-based gambling games in the country.
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