California approved online poker bill
California joins the approval list along with Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey.
US.- California Assembly Governmental Organisation Committee approved the Online Poker bill –AB 2863– by 18-0. The proposal was introduced by the Assemblyman Adam Gray to regulate online gambling and to eventually determine the status of “bad actors.”
The debate about what to do with the online operators who have offered services during the prohibition –since 2006 with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act– has not ended. Authorities could add to the bill a “bad actors” clause to punish the companies by limiting or prohibiting their participation. Another option is to let regulators decide which company abused the law and, therefore, sentence them, without an specific language included in the bill.
According to Adam Gray’s calculation, the legalisation of online poker will lead to achieve incomes of US$60 million per year. The bill reached the support of local racetracks and Poker Players Alliance, their spokesman Jonh Pappas even gave his testimony during the debate.
