PPA Seeks To Add Horse Racing To California Online Poker Bills

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Tuesday, July 29th, 2014 | Written by Lucy Brown

California has been debating regulated online poker since 2007 and in February this year introduced Bills AB-2291 and SB-1366 to both the state assembly and senate. While the debate subsequently got bogged down as competing gambling interests jostled for position, The Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel surprised Californian legislators recently by announcing they had decided to open a play money online poker site called PrivateTable.com, with the intention of offering real money games in the near future.

Now, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has entered the fray by questioning the specific language of the poker bills currently floating around preventing horse racing tracks from opening their own internet poker websites, stating such measure could halt any momentum so far gained in the Golden State.

Indian tribes likely to resist extra competition

The PPA’s manoeuvre is likely to meet stiff resistance from California’s Native American tribes as the decision to include language in Bills AB-2291 and SB-1366 disallowing horse racing tracks from starting their own internet poker rooms came at the request of very same Native American tribes when the legislation was initially drafted. As explained on cardchat:

“On the other side of the coin, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, along with three popular California poker rooms, the Bicycle Casino (often referred to as ‘The Bike”), Hawaiian Gardens, and the Commerce Casino, have inked partnerships with PokerStars. When it comes to allowing racetracks to participate, none of them stepped up to say they would welcome the competition. If history is any indicator, California poker rooms, as well as Native American tribes, have wanted to dissuade as much competition as possible.”

Racetrack proponent out of picture

In the past, draft online poker legislation allowing horse tracks to offer internet poker featured in a number of previous bills, most noticeably those introduced by State Senator Rod Wright. The racetracks’ biggest proponent, however, has been suspended from his office after being found guilty of perjury and voter fraud. As a result, the race track interests are in desperate need of another champion if they are to avoid being shut out of the potentially lucrative new market.

California’s huge market

California represents the USA’s internet poker “whale” with a population of over 38 million people, and a state economy worth $1.959 trillion, making it the world’s 8th largest economy behind the USA, China, Japan, Germany, France, Brazil and the UK.

In the event of legislation, online poker is expected to generate up to $263 million in revenues in its first year of operations, rising to $384 million by year ten, according to a study released by Academicon and PokerScout. Consequently, the competition to carve out a slice of its enormous online poker market is likely to be fierce, especially with 110 of the 350 federally recognized Indian tribes located in California, each of which has the potential right to follow the example of the Santa Ysabel tribe and set up its own online operation. As Santa Ysabel’s gaming attorney Martin Owens recently stated, considering a number of race tracks, county fairs and the municipal card rooms as potential licence holders is likely to be too much even for the huge Californian market

“So everyone is out there, with enough money to block each other in the stage legislature. Now you have people trying to exclude each other,” explained Owens. “There are some really deep-seated rivalries. That’s what’s kept Internet gaming from moving forward at the state level. There are too many people whose main interest is making sure someone else doesn’t get a chance.”

Real roadblock is involvement of horse racing tracks

According to Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Director John Pappas, the main obstacle currently holding back Californian online poker legislation is horse racing tracks blocking any bill which cuts them off from offering online poker websites of their own. Highlighting the point, Pappas said that while attending the Global iGaming Summit and Expo in San Francisco, he was told by a horse track representative that “they still have powerful allies in the assembly and senate” and that any bill which excluded them would be unacceptable. Unfortunately, it seems there is even less room to compromise on the issue as there is on the bad actors” clause affecting PokerStars from operating in the state.

Up until recently, PokerStars’ potential involvement in California ipoker was opposed by at least 13 of the state’s 25 card rooms on account of its flaunting of the UIEGA. Since news of Amaya Gaming’s upcoming acquisition PokerStars last month, however, many PokerStars’ opponents have apparently began to soften their stance.