New York’s online poker efforts could be getting a serious shot in the arm thanks to growing support in the one legislative chamber it has historically struggled in. Per OnlinePokerReport, the Assembly version of the online poker pitch, A 5250, could soon quadruple its number of sponsors, which would bode well for its chances there. The New York State Senate has, on more than one occasion, passed an online poker bill. The Senate bill most recently cleared a committee vote in January. The man spearheading the bill in the Senate, Republican State Senator John Bonacic, expects the measure to clear…

WSOP.com and 888Poker have submitted for testing their new poker software. The hope is to grow US online poker via regulatory bodies in Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey, with the goal of pooling players from all three U.S. states upon the anticipated approval by all jurisdictions – a major step for gaming operators in the U.S. The linking of all three states is hopeful to go live on Tuesday, May 1 and would allow customers in Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey to play poker against each other, if final approval is granted from all jurisdictions. This shared-liquidity* gives way for…

The Washington State Gambling Commission has tweeted that it has been receiving questions about free play poker sites, such as PokerStars, denying access to state residents. A recent ruling by Ninth Circuit of U.S. Court of Appeals stated that social casino games are illegal under the State of Washington’s existing gambling laws. It began back in 2015 after a woman lost over $1,000 in virtual chips. She sued Churchill Downs, the then-parent company of Big Fish Casino over the loss. Under Washington law, gambling is “risking something of value upon the outcome of a contest of chance.” It all boils…

PokerStars is to go live in India from the middle of next month as the poker site enters a potential market of more than a billion people. Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd and its India licensee, Sachiko Gaming Private Ltd, have announced that the PokerStars India website will commence operations on April 17. It was announced earlier this month that Pokerstars.in would launch as a replacement for Khelplay, a website owned by Sachiko Gaming division Sugal & Damani. Khelplay ceased operations on March 15. More on the launch of PokerStars in India at iGaming Business

The overall picture of New Jersey online poker is stagnant, while other internet gambling is showing significant growth since the industry launched in November 2013. Last year delivered another growth spurt of nearly 25% and put the total gross gaming revenue over the $770 million mark at the end of 2017. The dissected picture, however, shows that the revenue increases have been coming primarily from the online casino games sector, as online poker has been on a relatively consistent downswing for more than a year. Whether the market is saturated or operators are simply uninterested in pursuing a larger poker…

New Jersey online poker collectively suffered their worst January on record in terms of revenue since the market launched more than five years ago, according to figures released last week by the Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE). The state regulator reported that a combined $1.95 million was generated at internet poker rooms in the state marking the first time that revenue has fallen below $2 million in a month that has traditionally been one of the busiest of the year for online poker. In contrast, revenues at online slots and other internet casino games are flourishing with operators reporting more…

For the first time in more than a decade, California will not be considering an online poker bill in 2018. However, online poker may be tied with sports betting for a 2019 push. With Friday’s deadline for the filing of regular bills approaching, Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer told Online Poker Report that, after a year of little progress with tribal gaming interests in the state, he will not be reintroducing his legislation to legalize and regulate online poker. Jones-Sawyer first got involved with the issue in 2014 and had sponsored a bill each year since. This will be the first year…

New York’s chances to become the fifth US state to authorize and regulate online poker remain intact for 2018, with two still-active measures remaining on the state’s legislative docket for consideration later this year. The first of the two bills which have now been returned to their respective State Senate and Assembly Committees is the S3898 measure proposed by State Sen. John Bonacic. Bonacic, a Republican from New York’s 42nd Senate District, has introduced an online-poker legalization bill in every legislative session since 2014. Since New York’s state legislature conducts its business in two-year sessions, the S3898 bill that Bonacic…