Online poker legislation has become a perennial event in California, with efforts stretching back some 10 years. Despite a decade of debate, the state still seems far away from getting a bill across the finish line. But that doesn’t mean lawmakers won’t try. California Assemblymember Reginald Jones-Sawyer introduced the state’s latest online poker legislative effort, the Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act, which seeks to legalize and regulate online poker in the Golden State. Jones-Sawyer’s bill (AB 1677) would allow approved tribes and card rooms to offer online poker to anyone over the age of 21 located in the state of…

Virginia Senator Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) had lost count on how many times she watched her gambling related bills flew straight in the garbage bin. But last Monday’s Senate General Laws Committee hearing was different for Lucas after of her bills, which would allow organizations that hold bingo games to also poker games, had finally been transmitted to the full Senate. The Daily Press reported that Lucas’ Senate Bill 1400 has hurdled the Senate Committee, albeit by a hairline. Voting 8-7, the Senate Committee approved her poker bill, thanks in-part to Sen. William R. DeSteph Jr., R-Virginia Beach, who surprisingly joined…

NOTE: This is not an online poker bill. Senator Louise Lucas has submitted an amended gambling bill that seeks to admit poker as a game of skill, therefore bypassing antiquated gambling legislation in the state. f the state of Virginia ever wakes up to the possibility that gambling is not as dangerous as selling tobacco by the aircraft carrier load then, citizens will have Democratic Senator Louise Lucas to thank. For the third successive year, Lucas has submitted her annual ditty that would legalize a form of gambling in the Old Dominion and this time her focus is on poker….

iGaming Business – Pennsylvania State Senator Edwin Erickson has announced his intention to introduce a new bill that has the potential to bring regulated online poker to the US state. Erickson confirmed that State Bill 1386 would be rolled out in the coming weeks. “In the next few weeks I intend to introduce Senate Bill 1386, legislation that would authorise interactive gaming in the form of online poker,” Erickson said. “A recent study from the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee found that internet gaming is a large new source of revenue that the Commonwealth could explore. This means more revenue…

Online Poker Report – Unbeknownst to most people outside of the state legislature, California’s online poker bills are up against a deadline coming at the end of this month. The time limit is legitimate, and requires that all bills must pass their “house of origin” by May 30, according to the California legislative calendar and the California legislature’s joint rules (page 39 has the pertinent information). The deadline was first brought to attention by Washington Internet Poker Initiative founder and OnlinePokerReport.com contributor Curtis Woodard, who pointed out several upcoming deadlines. The legislative calendar reads, “May 30 Last day to pass…

iGaming Business – A bill for the potential legalisation and regulation of online poker in the US state of California will not be considered until next year, according to the Poker Players Alliance lobby group. The alliance posted a message on twitter that said that sources had confirmed that the Correa bill will not be brought up before the end of the current legislative session, which finishes on September 6. Authorised by state senator Lou Correa, Senate Bill 678 is the ‘Authorisation and Regulation of Internet Poker and Consumer Protection Act of 2013’. It would authorise internet poker as a…