Online poker bill dead in California
The online poker bill had an incredible number of obstacles in its path and has been rejected once again.
US.- On Thursday, the state legislature will hold its last session of the year with the intention to pass bills, but despite the best efforts, California’s online poker bill has flat-lined. The Assembly Bill 2863 would have charged operators US$12.5 million per license and taxed gross revenues at 10 percent.
Gaming analysts estimated that the online Poker market in California would’ve generated around US$400 million each year. The bill had to achieve a full Assembly vote and then make it through the Senate with a two-thirds majority. It is no surprise that the bill is being forced to admit defeat, since it needed to reach impossible goals and didn’t receive enough votes.
One of the main reasons why the online poker bill was unsuccessful is that the ones who were supposed to sponsor the bill didn’t give enough reasons to approve it. Between the powerful tribes, card rooms, horsemen, state politicians, online poker operators and the general public, there has been too many objections.
The efforts to legalise online poker in the West Coast state are expected to continue in 2017. Analysts estimate that the state is able to support up to 10 online poker operators thanks to its population of over 40 million people. California’s gambling industry already sees a revenue intake of US$7 billion each month thanks to a very active tribal gaming industry.
