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.