Poll: California poker legislation unlikely in 2015

The long-running battle over online poker regulation in California is unlikely to be settled this year, according to the majority of respondents to this week’s eGaming Review poll.

More than three-quarters of readers (77%) said current stakeholder in-fighting relating to the detail of any regulatory framework would drag on and thus dash any hopes of progress in 2015.

This comes despite the fact that last week two of the state’s most powerful politicians, Senator Isadore Hall and Assemblyman Adam Gray, submitted two identical bills to the Senate and Assembly as they seek to legalise the activity.

The involvement of Hall and Gray has been considered a major step towards getting a bill across the line in 2015, and the bill has already received the backing of PokerStars and its California coalition of key tribal bodies and card rooms.

And 23% of respondents are confident that the participation of Hall and Gray in the debate will expedite the process and result in regulation being passed before the year’s end.

Any progress with legislation in California would be the shot in the arm the regulated US egaming industry needs after a tough 12 months with no new states adopting egaming legislation to help grow the market.

Although some operators have struggled to gain traction in the nascent US market, others such as the Borgata and Golden Nugget, and platform providers 888, bwin.party and Gamesys, are making real progress.