Online Poker in California Shelved for 2018

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Saturday, February 17th, 2018 | Written by Stephen Smith

California’s drive for legalized online poker in 2018 has ended before it has even begun after Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles) said that he would not be reintroducing a bill this year. Up until now, Jones-Sawyer has been one of the biggest proponents of regulated internet poker in the Sunshine State, and has sponsored a bill each year since 2014.

It seems as though a failure to satisfy the concerns of the various disparate tribal gaming interests over the past few years, however, has finally take its toll on the Assemblyman, and subsequently convinced him to pass on any further efforts for the time being. As a result, no bill was filed before the state deadline of February 16th, with Jones-Sawyer insisting instead that more time is needed to reflect upon past efforts before moving forward with legislation.

“The process was very contentious, and some people still need some time to heal,” explained Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer. “There’s some other issues with tribes and cardrooms that probably need to be resolved before we can move forward with this thing.”

Tribal Blockade

Assemblyman Jones-Sawyer’s decision means that for the first time since 2007 California will not attempt an online poker drive, which will come as a major disappointment for those optimists who saw the state as one of the leading candidate for eventual online poker adoption.

Helping Jones-Sawyer make his difficult decision is the fact that a coalition of tribes have said that they would not permit a gambling expansion until the state did something to address their concerns over card rooms being able to offer house-banked games by rotating the deal in games such as blackjack, baccarat, pai gow poker, and three card poker. Traditionally, casino-style games are the exclusive domain of tribal casinos, but cardrooms have been able to exploit a loophole in the law, prompting tribal interests to seek legal redress for what they see as an infringement on their rights. As Leland Kinter, chairman of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, explains:

“The California penal code expressly bars the playing of blackjack as a prohibited game. Yet you can drive down streets and highways in our state and see billboards on which card rooms boldly advertise that they play Las Vegas-style blackjack.”

PokerStars Issue

Another hurdle that has been raised by tribal interests in the past concerns the role PokerStars may be allowed to play in a regulated Californian online poker industry. Interestingly, the world’s biggest online poker room only found itself a bone of contention after the state managed to solve the tribal interests objections over the involvement of California’s racing industry in a future regulated iPoker market.

It was at that point that the tribes then raised the “bad actor” issue over PokerStars, and put forward their opposition
to the brand being considered a suitable candidate for an iPoker license. PokerStars naturally objected to their stance, and even attempted to appease tribal concerns by suggesting it could pay a hefty fine and be shut out of the market for a set period of time. No compromise deal was possible, though, ultimately leading to PokerStars being blamed for a lack of progress on legislation. As Isaac Haxton, a former PokerStars sponsored pro who fell out spectacular with his previous employer over its revamped rewards program, subsequently tweeted at the time:

“ICYMI, @PokerStars is now trying to block California online poker legislation if it’s not on their terms.”

In the end, it appears as though PokerStars may have been used as just another convenient scapegoat by the tribes to ensure online poker never sees the light of day in California, and as gaming analyst Steve Ruddock wrote in 2016 after yet another frustrating episode in this marathon drama:

“Whenever a potential solution is put forth the coalition not only finds fault with the current proposal, but starts raising questions about other aspects of the bill. The coalition frustratingly keeps calling for more discussions — more discussions on an issue that has been debated for 10 years.”

Sports Betting

New Jersey’s sport betting case in the US Supreme Court this summer does at least provide some optimism that a resolution formula may eventually be found. After all, Reggie Jones-Sawyer has said that a successful outcome in court may lead California to tack on an online poker bill to any sports wagering bill that the state may then introduce.

After all, sports betting is a hugely lucrative industry that the American Gaming Association estimates to be worth around $150 billion a year. The industry is therefore being seen as a valuable potential source of income for state coffers, exemplified by sportsbooks in Nevada having generated $4.87 billion in handle and $248.8 million in revenue during 2017 alone, with the state subsequently collecting just short of $30 million in taxes.