California has struggled to get an online poker bill of any kind moving forward over the last year due to challenges in reaching a consensus among all the Indian tribes who are involved. It looks like California Assemblyman Adam Gray has finally achieved this on AB 431. The bill is essentially a ‘shell bill’ that does not include any details regarding the actual regulation of an online poker platform within the state. Though it is considered vague, it is the first step in creating the framework by which the state will begin to work out the structure of the potential new gambling platform. Gray made some minor changes to the bill’s wording that seemed to appease all parties involved.
One of the main sources for contention among the Indian tribes stems from the fact that some of the tribes want a bad actor clause, while one of the highly influential tribes does not. Gray added language to the bill that limits licensing of online poker sites to ‘qualified entities.” Some feel that this change satisfied those who are seeking the bad actor clause inclusion while remaining vague enough to not upset those who do not want that restriction in place because it would nullify existing partnerships they have established within the online poker industry. This language change is thought to be the primary influence that unified the committee to pass the bill.
There were a few other minor changes to the language of the bill, none of which really altered the content or intent of it, but combined were able to get the bill moved through the committee. Some feel the additional changes made the bill even more vague. For example, originally the bill indicated specific agencies that would be responsible for establishing regulation of online poker in California. Changes modified that language to simply say that “the state” would regulate California online poker.
Despite the fact that we cannot see much point to some of the language changes since most of them did not alter the basic message, we’re pretty sure that it was important to one of the parties involved or they wouldn’t have been made in the first place. These small amendments were successful in allowing California to take the first steps towards authorizing online poker for their residents.
Members of the committee express confidence that the details of legalizing online poker in California would be successfully hammered out through a meaningful process that benefits all parties involved as well as the residents of the state. Should they achieve a law that permits state based legal California online gambling, they would be the fourth state to do so, following New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware.