Sen. Rob Wright About His Latest Online Poker Initiative

Jan 09, 2013
Sen. Rob Wright About His Latest Online Poker Initiative
Following its recent reintroduction California Senator Rod Wright remains optimistic about his intrastate online poker legalisation chances in the California Legislature in 2013. At the recent National Conference of Legislators from Gaming States in Las Vegas, the Senator explained why his measure SB-51 should succeed when previous attempts failed. He said that this year interested parties in the issue have a larger number of partners which would allow them to participate in a potentially lucrative Californian online poker business. The State of California offers greater player liquidity potential than a smaller state like Nevada, where a significant number of large companies and partnerships are applying for licenses because of its well advanced intrastate regulation and licensing. No doubt that Nevada-licensed operators would be interested to pursue players in other states, something that would not be necessary in California due to its larger poker population. "As I look at the Nevada game, I believe it to be a stalking horse for federal legislation that will allow them to encroach their borders and come into California," said Wright. Nevertheless, Wright is against federal legalisation because it infringes on states' rights, if individual states wish to legalise intrastate internet gambling or enter into interstate compacts it should be a state prerogative. As he explained: "The federal government should not be in the business of controlling or taking money out of the gambling revenues that are generated by the state. That's never been a federal process, and it should not begin now." As more states enter the online gambling sector, they would interact with other states in a bid to reach sharing agreements and compatible regulatory requirements by the participating parties, and it should be an option available to individual states, not one dictated by federal government. The states' interactions on lotteries is a good example of how these regulatory themes could work. Wright underlined that regulators in California would have to master the complexities of regulation completely before looking to create relationships with other like-minded states. Being a major force in the state gaming business, the tribes' combined revenues in California are now larger than the take of Las Vegas. It is in their commercial interests to merge land and online gambling so as to broaden commercial opportunities. Tribal interests could operate some of the internet poker hubs envisioned in California, said Wright. Therefore the Senator stressed: "Clearly we would not be able to violate the compacts that we have, so the Class 2 games that are currently being played in California will be the only games allowed on the Internet platform as well, so it will not be a violation of exclusivity. And we will not go into trying to renegotiate the tribal compacts as they're written."
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