New Hope For California Online Poker? Tribal Group Ends PokerStars PartnershipPokerStars Coalition Becomes Smaller After Tribal Group's Departure |
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Efforts to legalize and regulate online poker in California are a mess and currently delayed indefinitely, but momentum could be building once again thanks to a major development this week.
The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians said Wednesday that it is no longer a member of the coalition that includes PokerStars, Commerce Casino, Hawaiian Gardens Casino, the Bicycle Casino and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians.
That’s according to an article from OnlinePokerReport.
San Manuel said the reason was because the online poker debate, which has lasted a decade now, has proved costly and it needs to focus on other issues.
Why is this development noteworthy? Because online poker is a highly sensitive political issue in California and some politically powerful tribal groups don’t want PokerStars in the market.
PokerStars is a juggernaut with about 70 percent of the worldwide online poker market, and some tribes aren’t happy with the fact that PokerStars did business with Californians in the past. There’s also the ongoing insider trading case in Canada against Amaya’s former CEO, which hasn’t gone unnoticed by tribes already opposed to PokerStars.
Critics of the opposition to PokerStars say the market needs to be open to allow for competition and for consumers to get the best online poker product available.
The PokerStars coalition is presumably weakened by San Manuel’s departure. San Manuel joined forces with PokerStars in lobbying efforts in late 2014, the same year that PokerStars was sold to Amaya for $4.9 billion. PokerStars would have provided San Manuel with an online poker platform if the activity was legalized without so-called “bad actor” regulations.
PokerStars said in 2014 that San Manuel was “a great partner to join our coalition in advocating for the development of an open and well regulated iPoker market in California.”
San Manuel operates San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino near near the city of Highland, Calif. It’s one of 60 California tribes with gaming. Why are tribal groups so politically powerful in California’s online poker debate? California’s tribal gambling market is worth $4 billion a year, making it the second largest casino market in the nation behind Nevada.
Steve Stallings, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, told Card Player earlier this month that there’s been less of a PokerStars lobbying presence in Sacramento lately and also that a recent federal raid on the Bicycle Casino could diminish the political capital of the PokerStars coalition. He said that it would be “a turning point if you heard [PokerStars was] not seeking a [California] license or were giving up their partnerships.”
Over in New Jersey, PokerStars has been a key player in the state’s rapidly growing online gambling market. Atlantic City had a record $21.7 million in online gaming revenue in March.
New Jersey gaming officials found PokerStars suitable for its highly regulated industry.
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