Various online poker interests in California have been unable to agree on who gets into the market. But while these sides struggle with the plan, it’s pretty clear that the majority of Californians would welcome iPoker into the state. This much is confirmed by a recent survey by the National Research Institute (via All-In Magazine), which shows that, out of 1,500 people, 66% want regulated online poker in California.
But this isn’t the only thing that the survey revealed, so check out what else Golden State residents had to say as well as when PPA Director John Pappas thinks California will legalize iPoker.
Results of California Online Poker Poll
– 51% of the 1,500 respondents would consider playing iPoker in California if it’s licensed and regulated.
– 71% of Californians voted that they would feel safe playing on a licensed and regulated California online poker site.
– 85% of the respondents would not feel safe playing on the unregulated, offshore iPoker rooms that are currently operating in the Golden State.
– 71% of Californians said that legal online poker would not prevent them from still visiting the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos.
The State wants iPoker, but when does Pappas think it will be legalized?
As mentioned before, the big holdup to regulating iPoker in California is that card rooms, race tracks and tribal gaming interests can’t agree on who should be eligible for licenses. Specifically, some California tribes believe that race tracks and PokerStars should be prevented from entering the market.
Despite the divisions, John Pappas, director of the Poker Players Alliance, believes that these iPoker interests are closer than people think to coming to a consensus.
“The stakeholders in California were too fractured for it to be realistic before,” Pappas told All-In. “While there is still considerable tension between the varying interests, they have all agreed that regulation of iPoker is a good thing. Now they are just fighting over who gets what.”
One reason why these operators believe that iPoker regulation is a good thing is because of how much money the California market is worth. Given that the Golden State has 38.8 million residents and the world’s eighth-largest economy ($2.29 trillion) by itself, California stands to be very lucrative to successful online poker sites. The only question that remains is which businesses will get to share in this potential wealth.