\nBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/p>\n
\tCalifornia is shaping up as the nation\u2019s Internet poker battleground in 2015.<\/p>\n
\tEveryone wants a piece of the potentially lucrative pie.<\/p>\n
\tWith 38 million residents, California has an Indian casino industry that produces almost $7 billion in annual gaming revenue \u2014 one-fourth of the nation\u2019s total. Internet gaming proponents think the Golden State will erase doubts about the financial strength of the activity that is burdened by setbacks in New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware.<\/p>\n
\tCalifornia\u2019s racetrack operators view Web gaming as a way of revitalizing its business. State card room managers believe online wagering is a natural partner to live cash games.<\/p>\n
\tLegislation legalizing online poker stalled this year in Sacramento. It\u2019s expected to be a different story in 2015.<\/p>\n
\tMultiple bills covering online poker will be introduced when California\u2019s Legislature convenes Jan. 6 for its two-year session. As soon as next month, when lawmakers meet to organize for the session, online poker talk will surface.<\/p>\n
\tBy the time 2015 is wrapped up, a bill legalizing online poker will await the signature of Gov. Jerry Brown.<\/p>\n
\tThe question is whether the legislation contains language that keeps PokerStars from having a seat at the table.<\/p>\n
\tPokerStars complicated matters this year.<\/p>\n
\tThree Los Angeles-area card rooms and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians \u2014 operators of Casino Morongo in Cabazon \u2014 had a deal with PokerStars for the European online giant to provide the group with an Internet wagering platform.<\/p>\n
\tHowever, 13 tribes, led by the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, favored an online poker bill that contained a \u201cbad actor clause.\u201d The language sidelines an Internet wagering company that accepted bets from American players after October 2006, when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed.<\/p>\n
\tIn the months following the shelving of the California legislation, events changed the landscape.<\/p>\n
\tPokerStars, which was kicked out of the U.S. by federal prosecutors in April 2011, was purchased in August when Montreal-based Amaya Gaming Group paid $4.9 billion for its Isle of Man-based parent company.<\/p>\n
\tAmaya is licensed as an interactive gaming technology provider in New Jersey and wants to launch the PokerStars brand through a partnership with Resorts Atlantic City. An application is pending with the state\u2019s Gaming Enforcement Division.<\/p>\n
\tChanges in PokerStars \u2014 new ownership and the company\u2019s 2012 payment of $731 million to settle criminal and civil charges \u2014 could fuel a New Jersey launch, possibly after Jan. 1.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe key is New Jersey,\u201d one influential California tribal gaming source said. \u201cThat could answer some questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tEarlier this month, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians joined Morongo and the card rooms in PokerStars\u2019 corner. The tribe, which operates the San Manuel Indian Bingo &Casino in Highland, had been part of the 13-tribe anti-PokerStars coalition.<\/p>\n
\tSan Manuel Chairwoman Lynn Valbuena wrote in a Nov. 9 letter that joining with Morongo and Amaya gives the tribe \u201cthe best opportunity to achieve our I-poker business goals and objectives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tPro-Internet-poker lobbyists think keys to California\u2019s Internet gaming legislation are the yet-to-be-named new chairmen of Senate and Assembly government organization committees, as well as the panels\u2019 makeup.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWho are the authors and are they strong authors?\u201d one lobbyist said.<\/p>\n
\tSupporters of legal Internet poker in California aren\u2019t dismayed by negativity surrounding the U.S. online poker market.<\/p>\n
\tFederal legislation to create a nationwide online wagering system is bottled up and unlikely to surface after the new Congress is seated in January.<\/p>\n
\tLas Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson is the nation\u2019s most vocal \u2014 and wealthiest \u2014 opponent of online gaming. The 12th richest billionaire on the Forbes 400 is spending millions to hire lobbyists and create a coalition to fight any and all Internet wagering legalization efforts nationwide.<\/p>\n
\tAdelson hired former California Assembly Speaker and ex-San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown to oppose online poker in Sacramento.<\/p>\n
\tGolden State poker advocates aren\u2019t deterred by the diminished revenue figures produced by legal online gaming.<\/p>\n
\tAnalysts once projected the U.S. online gaming market would reach close to $8 billion by 2017. Not anymore.<\/p>\n
\tInternet wagering in New Jersey accounted for just under $9.5 million in gaming revenue during October, down almost 7.5 percent from September. The figure was the state\u2019s lowest total since January. The only online gaming operator to show an month-to-month increase was British-based Betfair, which is using the gaming license of the closed Trump Plaza.<\/p>\n
\tNevada has been equally disappointing.<\/p>\n
\tIn September, Nevada\u2019s three online poker sites \u2014 WSOP.com, Ultimate Gaming and Real Gaming \u2014 reported combined gaming revenue of $693,000, the lowest single-month total since the state began releasing monthly online numbers in February. In June, the sites collected a combined $1.037 million in gaming revenue.<\/p>\n
\tStation Casinos-owned Ultimate Gaming canceled its online wagering agreement with Atlantic City\u2019s Trump Taj Mahal in September and ceased operations in Nevada on Nov. 14. The 19-month-old site was the nation\u2019s first legal and regulated poker website.<\/p>\n
\tUltimate Gaming Chairman Tom Breitling said the current state-by-state approach to legalizing online gaming \u201chas created an extremely cost-prohibitive and challenging operating environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tDelaware\u2019s market is inconsequential.<\/p>\n
\tIn Nevada and New Jersey, several banks refused to allow credit cards to be used for online gaming transactions. Also, software created to ensure players were located within a state boundaries didn\u2019t work and kept many bets off the board.<\/p>\n
\tMorongo Tribal Chairman Robert Martin thinks the momentum is moving forward for California to get into the Internet poker game and change the image of the activity.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAs tribes come together on this issue, the opportunity for success grows,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
No replies were posted for this topic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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