Online Poker Hearings Start This Week in California

After months of indecision and numerous online poker bills, the state of California has now decided to move forward on discussions of online poker within the state. It will most likely be some time before legislation will be passed in California, but the hearings will hopefully help to bring the many issues to light that seem to be keeping the state from committing to legislation.

Over the next few weeks, into the month of July, the state will hold four hearings on different subjects in relation to online gaming, with a main focus on poker. The amount of hearings scheduled coincides with the amount of iPoker proposals that have been created within the state, which should suggest that each bill would be discussed at length.

Gaming groups interested in online poker within California have not been helpful with the legislation process as there is no consensus on the subject. For some time, the major issues with online poker moving forward have been the race tracks and bad actor clauses. While some card rooms and Indian tribes have no issue with the race tracks being involved as well as with brands such as PokerStars entering the state to operate iPoker, others are not in agreement.

The hearings will begin tomorrow and will take place as scheduled below, as according to a report at CardPlayer:

April 22^nd

• Gambling: Internet poker, discussion on AB 431

May 20^th

• Overview of Gambling in California—Legality, Authorization and Regulation

June 24^th

• The Legality of Internet Poker—How Prepared is California to Regulate It?

July 8^th

• Gambling: Internet poker: unlawful gambling activity (discuss AB 9 and AB 167)

Starting tomorrow, we will be able to see the outcome of the scheduled hearings, getting insight into how legislators feel on the subject of online poker within the state. It will be interesting to see if the hearing set for tomorrow will have a positive outcome towards moving forward with iPoker legislation in California.

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