California has many of the right ingredients for online poker to be legalized within the state.
1. The state has a huge budget deficit this year, so revenue from taxing online poker in the state is more attractive than ever.
2. There is a regulatory structure in place for regulating land-based poker rooms that many feel could be extened to allow those same rooms to offer poker online.
3. The UIGEA makes it clear that regulating online poker within a state for state residents is entirely a state issue that does not require federal approval.
4. Draft legislation has been prepared for consideration by the California legislature to legalize online poker. You can see the draft legislation in our APCW legal resource library here: California Online Poker Law Enforcement Compliance, and Consumer Protection Act (Draft) - January 15, 2009.
So, what do you think. Will California be the first state to legalize online poker? Will it happen this year?
Michael