PokerWorks

The 2008 bill in the California state legislature proposing a study of intrastate online poker looks to be on perpetual hold again. After having new life breathed into it only one month prior when the Morongo Band of Mission Indians expressed its support and intended advocacy for the bill, the tribe quickly discovered that the staunch opposition of other California tribes could not be overcome. Thus, Morongo has put on indefinite hold its support of intrastate online poker. And again, the bill has little support or ability to gain ground in the legislature.

AB 2026 has not had an easy road since being introduced by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys) in the early months of 2008. Simply put, the bill would only authorize a study about all of the issues involved with intrastate online poker, including consumer protections and potentially $4 billion in annual revenue. Though it passed its first committee, efforts to pursue further advancement have fallen flat. But when Morongo decided to endorse it in August of 2009, there was hope for it again.

Morongo decided to form the California Tribal Intrastate Internet Poker Consortium (CTIIPC) to push the legislation forward, and immediately it received the support of land-based casinos like Commerce Casino. But other tribes failed to see the benefit to their already-profitable Indian casino endeavors, and the pressure on Morongo to drop the issue until it can be investigated further by all affected parties in California was great enough to cause the band to cease its efforts on a public level, though talks will continue behind closed doors.

According to the Desert Sun in Palm Springs, Morongo spokesman Patrick Dorinson said, “Some concerns have been raised, and we want to make sure we address those concerns so this can benefit everyone. We are going to redouble our efforts and present this in January to the [state] legislature.” Dorinson also mentioned the bills pending in the U.S. Congress and knows that no matter the outcome there, the issue may be a state-focused one in the end.

Some of the issues to be discussed involve the legality of Indian tribes to host online poker sites under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, as well as the feasibility of doing so while risking a hit to their land-based casino businesses. While most land-based card rooms see the potential in accepting business from the millions of online poker players within the California borders, Indian casinos have yet to decide that those possibilities wont’ jeopardize the industry they’ve already built.

One of the opposing bands has been the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians. Chairman Mark Macarro noted, “Tribal and state leaders clearly need more time to weigh the consequences of this proposal. There may be merit to the concept, but a lot of questions still need to be addressed.”

It seems that the bill will not be moving forward in California until January 2010 at the earliest, and that time frame ultimately depends on the ability of several gaming entities in the state to come together and agree on the basics of the proposed legislation.