MORE GOOD NEWS FROM CALIFORNIA

27 June 2008

7 to 1 passage through key committee for Levine poker bill


Good news from the Sunshine State this week is that AB2026, a bill to legalise Internet poker in California proposed by Democrat assemblyman Lloyd E. Levine (see previous InfoPowa report), passed the state Senate Governmental Organization Committee in a 7-to-1 vote this week.

The bill amends the state Gambling Control Act to allow state-licensed operators to exclusively offer Internet poker to citizens of California.

Levine's bill was originally a proposal to study the legality, in terms of the UIGEA, of an intrastate poker regime in California. The study would be conducted jointly by the California Gambling Control Commission and the California Department of Justice reporting to the Assembly by June 30, 2009.

However, after it received approval from the committee back in April 2008, Levine changed the intent of the proposal on June 18 to go for the implementation of legalised and regulated online poker in the state.

The bill will now move forward to the Senate Appropriations Committee for fiscal review.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa