California Online Gambling Bill Not Likely to be Passed Soon

Recently, California legislators had considered two different bills that would have legalized online gambling in the state. However, the State Senate Head did not approve these bills and said that these bills will not be passed anytime soon.

The first bill, sponsored by Lou Correa, a State Senator, sought the legalization of only online poker. This bill also required that the operators of online poker should be located in California, limiting the possibility to running an online poker site only to the Native American casinos and local poker rooms.

The other bill, which was introduced by Rod Wright, another State Senator, sought the legalization of all online casino games. This bill also allowed the applicants from outside California to run online casinos, though it limited the number of operators. The bill stated that there should be just three online casino operators.

Analysts and observers believe that the bill that was introduced by Correa had a better chance of being passed as it is supported by California Online Poker Association (COPA). COPA is an organization that is committed to providing safe and secure opportunities for Californians to play online poker. But some people have come out strongly against this bill saying that this bill is not worth the effort.

Tem Darrel Steinberg, the Senate President, said that the two gambling bills will not see any progress anytime this year as the legislative year is about to conclude – on September 9.

Steinberg, who is a proponent of online poker, said that there are important, unresolved issues in the bills, like the sovereign immunity waiver and tribal exclusivity. There are also issues about who could be qualified to apply for a license to run online gambling sites and the types of online games that could be legalized.

These are just some of the stumbling blocks the bills will have to overcome. Steinberg also said that it is possible to re-introduce these bills in January. It is possible that if the issues in question are solved, online gambling could be legalized in the US.

Richard D. Bronson, the chairman of Digital Gaming in the US, reacted to the comments by Steinberg. He said that the gambling industry in the US respects the commitment of Steinberg and considers it as a positive step to create a legal, long-term, healthy online gambling industry in the country.

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