Online poker could be legalized soon in the state of California if State Senate President Darrell Steinberg has anything to do with it. The senator is pushing bill SB1463 in the hopes that online poker will help the state with their much needed budget.
It has been estimated that if the bill is passed, then the state would be able to earn around $200 million each year from licensing fees which would be paid to the state by online poker operators. Steinberg released a statement on the bill which read:
“Once again, we’re facing horrible cuts to the core public services Californians need and deserve. My sole reason for supporting internet gaming in California is the potential to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars to help restore some of those services.”
Despite Steinberg’s feeling on the subject, there are those that are opposed to the option. Some believe that the elderly will be impacted as they would use their social security money to pay to gamble while others, those in the industry, say it will hurt the casinos. In addition, a few small Indian gaming tribes are also worried that online gambling would affect their casinos in the state. The tribes feel as though customers would stay online instead of visiting their brick-and-mortar establishments.
Senator Roderick Wright is the co-author of the new bill with Steinberg and he commented recently on the new bill by stating: “Today, the state of California is the leading Internet gaming market in the world. The only thing is, we make no money and we have no (consumer) protections for our citizens who play.”
The state of California is not the only state in the US trying to offer legalized online poker. such states as Florida, New Jersey, Mississippi, Hawaii and Iowa, have all tried to pass some type of legislation in favor of online poker. the state of Nevada recently passed legislation to allow online poker and they now need federal permission to begin.
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