As we recently discussed, California Assemblyman Mike Gatto has made his new online poker bill, AB 9, available to the public. This legislation would legalize the game in the Golden State and give its 38.3 million residents access to a regulated iPoker market. But while this much is good, there are certain points of Gatto’s bill that have already incensed the PokerStars coalition and the Poker Players Alliance. That said, let’s discuss three huge drawbacks that most players won’t like about AB 9.
1. Players need to deposit at land-based card rooms and casinos
One point of this bill that will really turn off casual players is how everybody must visit land-based card rooms and casinos to make online poker deposits. But the obvious problem here is inconvenience because only serious players will make this effort. Nobody explains the dilemma better than Poker Players Alliance President John Pappas. “The problem here is that enthusiasts are likely to make that effort, but the average consumer isn’t going to, and I think for the health of the game we need both enthusiasts and the average consumer,” says Pappas. While people can still enjoy iPoker from their computers after the deposit, making an unnecessary trip to casinos/card rooms makes the idea less attractive.
2. Racetracks and (possibly) PokerStars still shut out
The obvious reason why previous efforts to establish online poker in California have failed is because all sides can’t come to an agreement. Specifically, tribal casinos, the state’s card rooms and racetracks, and PokerStars (Amaya Gaming) have fiercely debated who should and shouldn’t be involved in the market. And unfortunately, AB 9 doesn’t really look to clear much (if any) of this mess up. The racetracks are still shut out of iPoker and PokerStars is still subject to a bad actor clause, with the only loophole being if they can provide “clear and convincing evidence” that they won’t undermine poker’s integrity or the public’s confidence in the game. So far, nobody knows what it could take to meet the clear-and-convincing evidence requirement. And if PokerStars is again shut out, this would remove a very popular option for players.
3. Bill likely to further delay legal online poker
For the past several years, politicians and private companies have been debating the iPoker matter in California. And if Gatto’s AB 9 legislation is the best option so far, we are unlikely to see any progress made in 2015. This is supposed to finally be the year that all sides come together and agree, thus paving the way for legal online poker. But the PokerStars coalition and state racetracks are putting their foot down regarding AB 9. Luckily there are supposed to be two news bills being introduced in 2015. And California players can only hope that these legislative efforts differ from Gatto’s bill.