ONLINE POKER HOPES IN CALIFORNIA FADING
21 August 2009
Time - and tribal opposition - seem to be
against legalisation this year
Hopes that poker may be legalised in the state of
California this year are fading, according to a report
in the publication Capitol Weekly, which cites tribal
differences and political timing as the negative
influences at work.
This week the newspaper
reported that California Senate leader Darrell Steinberg
was not hopeful that such a proposal would make it
through the political mill as the legislature headed
into it's final month of the current session.
Asked at a press conference for his opinion, Steinberg
reportedly said: "I don't think it should be taken up in
the last four weeks. I think it is a legitimate idea for
consideration. I only have one question when I hear a
proposal like that: how much money for the state General
Fund? It's all I want to know. You know, is it two,
three hundred million dollars? If it is, I'd consider
it. But I think it's going to take more than four weeks
to analyze that kind of proposal and the potential
economic benefits."
Complicating the situation
are tribal differences of opinion on an initiative by
the Morongo Indian band, working with several major
Californian card clubs, to legalise poker. Other Indian
bands with gambling interests have been approached with
the Morongo proposal, a five page draft bill which
suggests that a centralised, online poker website would
be available to online players within California's
borders. The consortium would have an exclusive right to
offer online poker, and all Californian Indian tribes
and card clubs would be eligible to be members. The bill
is apparently not specific regarding percentage cuts in
the venture.
This week the Pechanga Band of
Luiseņo Indians commenced a counter-initiative, writing
to other tribes to flag its opposition to online poker
since proposals first surfaced late last year out of
concerns for the far-reaching legal, political and
policy consequences of an expansion of this magnitude.
The Pechangas' interest is not solely moral - it
operates a thriving 2 000 slot machine casino in
Temecula.
Backing up the letter, the Pechanga
released the results of an independent survey by EMC
Research which it had commissioned, showing that a poll
of 802 randomly selected California voters conducted
August 9-13 this year, revealed that 61 percent of
respondents opposed legalising online poker in
California. This included 44 percent who were "strongly
opposed." Only 36 percent were in favour.
Online Casino News Courtesy of
Infopowa
More news here.
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