California online poker back on the agenda
Bills sponsored by Senator Correa and Assemblyman Jones-Sawyer submitted to legislature ahead of today's deadline
Two new bills seeking to regulate online poker in California were submitted to the legislature including legislation backed by a coalition of Californian tribes led by the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians.
The poker-only bills, AB2291 and SB1366, were introduced on Friday and met the 24 February deadline for legislation to be entered for the state’s 2013-14 legislative session.
The AB2291bill has been supported by a consortium of eight tribes, including the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and the Temecula Band of Luiseño Mission Indians, and would allow for unlimited ten-year non-transferable licenses featuring a US$5m licence fee.
The bill was introduced by Assembly member Reggie Jones-Sawyer and appears to be a reworking of the SB51 bill introduced last year by state senator Roderick Wright, who was recently convicted of eight counts of voter fraud.
The second bill, SB1366, has been authored by Senator Lou Correa and is similar to his previous SB678 bill which set the licence fee at $10m and tax at 10% of GGR.
Both bills have urgency statutes which means they can take effect immediately if they are approved by a two-thirds majority vote in each house of the legislature.
The news follows the failed introduction of two Californian online poker bills SB51 and SB678 last month which died as part of the state’s legislative process.
According to a study by boutique research firm Eilers Research, the California internet poker market could be worth $439.4m a year by 2020.