Online poker remains in limbo in the state of California as daily fantasy sports moves forward with the passing of a DFS bill during a recent Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization meeting. The bill, created by Chairman of the Committee, Adam Gray, would see DFS legalized and regulated within the state. The Committee voted 17 to 1 for the bill to move forward, while the status of online poker remains the same.
The vote could be looked at as a good thing, especially when considering the daily fantasy sports industry. However, some tribal groups are not happy with the move, as they wanted to see online poker take precedence. DFS still has a long way to go but tribes are not happy with online poker taking a back seat when it comes to legislation.
Tribes in California have kept quiet on the issue of daily fantasy sports, even though the bill that moved forward last week was introduced in the fall of last year. However, during this most recent meeting, the tribes decided to speak out on the subject.
Before the hearing took place, a statement was issued by the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, which read that the group was not pleased that the DFS bill was being considered before legislation for online poker gaming. The hearing was originally intended to discuss sports betting and online poker, but these items were removed, leaving only DFS up for discussion.
Within the statement, Chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association Steve Stallings, announced his disappointment that the meeting on January 6th was not used to take the next step to legalizing and regulating iPoker within the state. Stallings stated that while the regulation of fantasy sports is well intended, the state needs to prove that they can deal with one online game, I-Poker, before it takes on others.
Many are wondering why DFS took precedence over online poker legislation in the state. According to Gray, the bill for DFS was pushed quickly since sites in this industry are already operating within California. The activity will still happen if legislation is in place or not. The bill would provide protections for consumers that do not currently exist.
The same can be said for online poker since players take part in offshore online poker gaming within the state of California. It is interesting to note that if DFS gaming is regulated in the state, it could bring further issue to the discussion of online poker. Tribes, card rooms and race tracks already are in contention when it comes to online poker gaming, not able to come to an agreement as to how the industry should take place within the state. With DFS in the mix, it could add even more stress to the situation.
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