While the world’s regulated online poker market has shrunk by 23% over the past two years, US-friendly sites have been experiencing some impressive growth over the same period of time and continue to outperform their licensed competitors. Bodog, for instance, has grown by 43%, the Winning Poker Network (WPN) by 77%, and the Chico Poker Network by an impressive 125%, raising the question whether it is these sites innovations or their virtual monopoly over the US market which is driving their traffic forward. Bodog was one of the first operators to recognize the damage done by online grinders relieving amateur…

The online poker debate in California is beginning to resemble the well-known scene from the Peanuts comics where Lucy holds the football for Charlie Brown. The state of California (playing the role of Lucy in this production) continues to hold the football while the poker world runs up to kick out – with predictable results. It appeared that progress was being made when California’s online poker bill AB 431 cleared another important hurdle as it continues to navigate unchartered waters. But on the flip side, two California Gaming Control Commissioners left their positions, and the debate over bad actors went…

The rhetoric surrounding California online poker continues to intensify, dampening the state’s chances of passing a bill to regulate the industry in 2015. Latest to the fray: a radio ad campaign from the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians that paints an aggressively negative picture of both PokerStars and the brand’s new owner Amaya. The campaign comes on the heels of the California Gaming conference where a tribal coalition (including Viejas) that opposes the participation of horse tracks and PokerStars in regulated online poker was consistently branded as obstructionist by those who support inclusion of tracks, PokerStars, or both. The version…

Pennsylvania State Senator Sean Wiley announced in a memorandum that he will introduce a bill that covers multiple facets of the state’s gaming industry. The bill looks to make changes in policy at both land-based and Internet gaming laws. Wiley proposes legalizing online poker in Pennsylvania. Casino games would be excluded. The bill would direct gaming regulators to draft rules for online poker rooms no earlier than July 1, 2016. Games would go live no sooner than January 1, 2017. All regulated Pennsylvania online poker rooms would be operated by the state’s existing casino companies. Pennsylvania interactive gaming licenses would…

As members of the California State Assembly Appropriations Committee debated and voted (May 28th) on AB 431, one of several California online-poker bills currently being considered, news surfaced that the hardline “Cali 7″ coalition which has roadblocked the process in recent years has retracted its neutrality on the shell bill. AB 431, only the second online-poker bill ever to advance from California’s requisite “GO Committee” initial hearing process, faces difficult sledding in the face of the renewed opposition.  That opposition came in the form of a return to a “no” position on the bill from the hardline tribal group, which is…

Amaya Inc based out of Canada, was a relatively unknown company until it surprised everyone in the poker industry in June 2014, when it confirmed that it had successfully acquired PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. PokerStars is the biggest online poker website in the world and has upheld that status after being acquired by Amaya Gaming for $4.9 billion. Since then the company has continued to stay in the news as it rolled out a number of strategic and operational changes. The billion dollar acquisition drew a lot of attention from the authorities who wanted to know if the proper…

A California online poker bill will clear the Assembly Appropriations Committee Thursday but be held on the Assembly floor until after upcoming hearings on web poker are complete, according to sources. The one-page shell bill, AB431, is sponsored by Democrat Adam Gray. It states in part that any future Internet poker measure adopted by the legislature must protect consumers and comply with applicable state and federal law. The Assembly Governmental Organization Committee, which handles gaming issues, unanimously approved the bill last month. Its next stop is the Assembly Appropriations Committee, which has jurisdiction over fiscal matters. Sources said the Appropriations…

This week marks the final full week in the life of WPTPoker.com, whose impending closure was announced last week. The World Poker Tour-branded site is one of seven member rooms on partypoker’s network. The death of WPTPoker marks what can only be described as a failed opportunity. It would almost seem a given that an online poker room connected to one of the most recognizable and valuable brands in poker would succeed, but that simply was not the case. Rather than push the site to the forefront, owner bwin.party did almost nothing to promote it. ClubWPT.com, the World Poker Tour’s…