When California Assemblyman Mike Gatto introduced his online poker bill, “AB 9,” there was some initial outrage at the in-person requirement. Going further, this requires new players to visit a land-based casino or card room to register and deposit at online poker sites.
The main reason why Gatto included this point in AB 9 was to satisfy California lawmakers who worry about underage players and cheating. But the HUGE drawback here is the inconvenience aspect since nobody wants to visit a land-based casino or card room before they can start playing iPoker. So Gatto listened to players and…
The in-person requirement is now optional
Rather than going through with what would have been an awkward stipulation, the assemblyman has chosen to back off forcing players to register/deposit in person. “After meeting with security experts and hearing from poker players and industry professionals, I have concluded that online poker would be best served by making in-person registration an option rather than a requirement,” Gatto said.
Now, this doesn’t mean that he’s totally disbanded the idea of making players visit land-based casinos and card rooms. He suggests holding an annual tournament that would help bring players to brick-and-mortar establishments, which was one of the original benefits of the in-person requirement.
No mention of bad actor clause being dropped
The key holdup to previous efforts to legalize online poker in California has been the inability of all sides to agree on the “bad actor” clause – a measure aimed at keeping sites out of the market that violated the UIGEA. PokerStars is the big issue here because they wield significant power thanks to alliances with two tribes and the state’s three card rooms. Furthermore, they are now under new ownership (Amaya), which lightens the UIGEA violations that they committed prior to Black Friday.
Seeing as how Gatto has shown the willingness to listen and make changes as needed, it’s likely that he could reconsider the bad actor clause and further amend it.
Penalties raised for illegally operating in California
Gatto is very serious about stamping out unlicensed online poker sites in the Golden State. His office wants to make it a felony for unregulated sites to offer iPoker to California residents. Aside from beefing up sanctions, they want to offer “additional resources” to the Attorney General to pursue unlicensed sites that continue violating the laws.
It looks like Gatto is moving closer towards a final draft for his bill. And the big question will be if his office sticks with the bad actor clause and beefed-up laws against offshore operators. Whatever the case may be, we can count on the assemblyman continuing to get opinions and feedback from players and industry experts.