California Online Poker Bill Delayed Until January

An ambitious attempt to bring legal, regulated intrastate poker to California will have to wait until 2010 to go before the State Legislature.

That’s the word from Morongo Indian spokesperson Patrick Dorinson, who told the The Desert Sun that the tribe was going to rework their current proposal and submit in the next session: “In our consultations with other tribes, some concerns have been raised, and we want to make sure we address those concerns so this can benefit everyone,” Dorinson said. “We are going to redouble our efforts, and present this in January to the Legislature.”

The aforementioned proposal, first floated in August, envisions a cooperative arrangement between California’s tribal casinos and card clubs that would create a new corporation to develop and manage an intrastate online poker network. The Morongo tribe reportedly pledged to front half of the $10 million start up cost for the venture.

Opposition to the proposal was immediate and firm. The Pechenga Tribe sent out a letter to other Indian gaming operators outlining their opposition to the plan: “Pechanga has had a standing oppose position to online poker since proposals first surfaced late last year out of concerns for the far-reaching legal, political and policy consequences of an expansion of this magnitude.” John Pappas, PPA executive director, told the CA political magazine Capitol Weekly that he’s concerned about the exclusivity the proposal would allow a small gorup of operators: “There would be no incentive for there to be a competitive rake,” he said. “Many sites offer bonuses, free rolls and opportunities for people to play for nearly nothing. I don’t know if there would be any incentive for that to be provided under a monopoly setting.”

However, if the economic situation continues to worsen, the bill may actually have a better shot in January than it would have enjoyed if introduced now, as indicated by Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg’s (D-Sacramento) reaction to the proposal at a press conference in August: “I don’t think it should be taken up in the last four weeks [...] I think it is a legitimate idea for consideration. I only have one question when I hear a proposal like that: how much money for the state General Fund? It’s all I want to know. You know, is it two, three hundred million dollars? If it is, I’d consider it. But I think it’s going to take more than four weeks to analyze that kind of proposal and the potential economic benefits.”

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