Hopes for online poker legislation in California in 2018 are already "dead"

[The Buzz]

According to an article at Online Poker Report, California will not consider a bill for online poker this year for the first time in a decade. The silver lining? It may be tied into a push for sports betting in 2019.

From the article:

With Friday’s deadline for the filing of regular bills approaching, Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer told Online Poker Report that, after a year of little progress with tribal gaming interests in the state, he will not be reintroducing his legislation to legalize and regulate online poker.

Jones-Sawyer first got involved with the issue in 2014 and had sponsored a bill each year since. This will be the first year since 2007 that California doesn’t consider online poker legislation.

The assemblyman is hoping that the US Supreme Court decision for Christie v. NCAA on the future of federal sports betting law will reignite the online poker bill next session.

“It is active because the Supreme Court ruling will make it more viable,” Jones-Sawyer said of online poker’s stagnation. “That’s what is happening now. We will get there, we just may go through a different door than the traditional one. Sports wagering raises all tides.”

When California began exploring online poker in 2007, it was at the forefront of the issue. Now it is being left by the oceanside. Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania have passed bills to regulate online poker, and Michigan and New York appear to have hopped over California’s lifeless body to be next in line.

No state has taken as many steps backward on online poker, but Jones-Sawyer is staying optimistic.

“I think, ultimately, the good thing to come out of waiting is we will learn from other states that have passed it and figure out a better way to get it done,” Jones-Sawyer said. “Even though other states started ahead of us, I believe not only will we catch up but pass them in a short period of time in terms of the amount of revenue, and the system we set up will be much better than any other state.

Read the entire article here: https://www.onlinepokerreport.com/28...ker-2018-dead/

[pokeraussie]

Bloody hell things are progressing so slowly in the US.

[PROFRBcom]

Bloody hell things are progressing so slowly in the US.

I predicted that outcome shortly after the DOJ reversed its interpretation of The Wire Act of 1961. Everyone came out of the wood work saying how it opened the door for regulation and states would be jumping all over it for the tax revenues...

They completely ignored one thing that I did not. Do some research into how long it took state lotteries to proliferate. You'll see how I came to my conclusion that regulated online poker in the USA would take a long time to come to fruition!

[FreePoker]

From the perspective of most affiliates living in the US, this is not a bad thing, the paucity of US-based online casinos. How many people do you know who actually managed to become a sub-affiliate?

[Buddy M]

Are things turning around here? I just read in another forum that some Republicans are actually moving over to the yes vote on online gambling and California which is run by virtually all Democrats still can't get this thing passed? Are you kidding me!!!!!!!!!!!!!