WATCH: California Online Poker Hearing TodayCrucial Vote On AB 2863 Could Take Place |
|
A crucial vote on a California online poker bill could come today. It would be only the second time ever that legislation to license and regulate online poker sites was voted on in the Golden State.
The hearing will take place at 1:30 p.m. local time in Sacramento at the State Capitol. For those interested, the hearing can be viewed here.
The Poker Players Alliance will be present to testify, according to the lobbying group’s Twitter account. California tribal groups and racetracks will be present as well.
The hearing will be held in the California Assembly Governmental Organization Committee, the same committee that voted on an earlier version of the bill last April.
This time around, Assemblyman Adam Gray’s legislation contains a provision that would give California’s horseracing industry $60 million in annual payments in exchange for the tracks not being able to get licenses for online poker. Only California tribal casinos and commercial card rooms could be operators, but they could partner with eligible online gambling companies.
The tracks indicated last week that they support AB 2863, as long as the $60 million isn’t lowered and it doesn’t preclude them from offering other forms of online gambling should the state approve those games in the future.
The other sticking point is whether online poker firms who facilitated games for Californians prior to the legalization of online poker in the state should be allowed to be involved with a market potentially worth nearly $400 million.
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
