The online poker debate in California is beginning to resemble the well-known scene from the Peanuts comics where Lucy holds the football for Charlie Brown. The state of California (playing the role of Lucy in this production) continues to hold the football while the poker world runs up to kick out – with predictable results. It appeared that progress was being made when California’s online poker bill AB 431 cleared another important hurdle as it continues to navigate unchartered waters. But on the flip side, two California Gaming Control Commissioners left their positions, and the debate over bad actors went…

The rhetoric surrounding California online poker continues to intensify, dampening the state’s chances of passing a bill to regulate the industry in 2015. Latest to the fray: a radio ad campaign from the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians that paints an aggressively negative picture of both PokerStars and the brand’s new owner Amaya. The campaign comes on the heels of the California Gaming conference where a tribal coalition (including Viejas) that opposes the participation of horse tracks and PokerStars in regulated online poker was consistently branded as obstructionist by those who support inclusion of tracks, PokerStars, or both. The version…

As members of the California State Assembly Appropriations Committee debated and voted (May 28th) on AB 431, one of several California online-poker bills currently being considered, news surfaced that the hardline “Cali 7″ coalition which has roadblocked the process in recent years has retracted its neutrality on the shell bill. AB 431, only the second online-poker bill ever to advance from California’s requisite “GO Committee” initial hearing process, faces difficult sledding in the face of the renewed opposition.  That opposition came in the form of a return to a “no” position on the bill from the hardline tribal group, which is…

Churchill Downs has entered into an agreement with card rooms Oceans 11 and Crystal Casino to partner for online poker should a bill pass to legalize and regulate the activity in California, OPR has learned. Terms and details of the deal are not available. The news comes as momentum continues to build for a regulated online poker bill in California, even as the larger political picture remains murky. Churchill, home to one of the few truly iconic brands in gaming – the Kentucky Derby – currently operates one of the leading online horse racing wagering sites in TwinSpires.com. The company…

A California online poker bill will clear the Assembly Appropriations Committee Thursday but be held on the Assembly floor until after upcoming hearings on web poker are complete, according to sources. The one-page shell bill, AB431, is sponsored by Democrat Adam Gray. It states in part that any future Internet poker measure adopted by the legislature must protect consumers and comply with applicable state and federal law. The Assembly Governmental Organization Committee, which handles gaming issues, unanimously approved the bill last month. Its next stop is the Assembly Appropriations Committee, which has jurisdiction over fiscal matters. Sources said the Appropriations…

California online poker bill AB 431, a shell bill calling for the generalized creation of a regulatory framework to govern intrastate online poker in the Golden State, was passed forward from the California State Assembly’s Appropriations Committee for later consideration by the state’s full Assembly body. The exact vote count for the moving of AB 431 from the Appropriations Committee has yet to be published.  Poker Players Alliance Vice President Rich Muny issued a Tweet stating that the vote was unanimous.  However, California-based Gambling Compliance writer Chris Krafcik posted a countering Tweet minutes later, stating that GOP members of the…