Momentum to get online poker legalized and regulated within the state of California has fallen by the wayside thanks to the legislative session ending Wednesday. Yet again, poker players have to wait until next year. There was serious progress made in 2016, as California lawmakers figured out a way to appease the racing industry and the tribes on one front by giving the former a nearly $60 million annual subsidy in exchange for not being eligible for online poker licenses. That deal was hashed out early in the year. California’s tracks already offer online wagering, the only form of online…

The latest changes to California’s Internet poker bill call for online gaming companies who facilitated poker games for Americans between 2006 and 2011 to be excluded from the Golden State market for five years, according to a report from The Los Angeles Times. The amendment would prevent PokerStars, which has roughly 70 percent of the worldwide online poker market, from being involved right out of the gate in what is considered the nation’s largest online poker market. PokerStars facilitated games for Americans until 2011, before the federal government indicted its former owners. The company settled without admitting to any wrongdoing,…

The California tribes blocking passage of the state’s latest online poker bill have proposed strict conditions for allowing PokerStars to get a license. In a letter to Assemblyman Adam Gray obtained by Gambling Compliance scribe Chris Krafcik (@CKrafcik), the seven-tribe coalition led by the Pechanga and Agua Caliente bands reiterate their longstanding opposition to Gray’s AB 2863 legislation but offer specific remedies to alleviate their concerns. The coalition has steadfastly objected to PokerStars participating in California’s online poker market due to the site having continued to serve US residents following the 2006 passage of the federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement…

The California Assembly Appropriations Committee passed a bill regulating online poker in the state on Wednesday, sending it to the full chamber for a possible vote.The committee approved AB 2863 on Wednesday. A vote had been scheduled to take place last week, but that was delayed as amendments were added to the bill. The amendments that were floated last week were inserted to the bill this week, and included: A “bad actor” clause that excludes online poker operators that accepted California players after the passage of the federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. Sites that did so could…

The California horse racing industry has come out in official support of online poker bill AB 2863 in advance of next week’s hearing in the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee. PokerNews.com has obtained a copy of the letter that nine industry leaders sent to Assemblyman Adam Gray, chair of the committee and co-lead sponsor of the bill. In the letter, the industry expressed support for the bill with a few reasonable caveats: The $60 million annual payment to horse racing is not changed. Assemblyman Gray told PokerNews last month that the figure was not up for negotiation. Tax rate and licensing…

There may yet be hope for ending the long stalemate between California tribes and racetracks on Internet poker. PokerNews.com has received a copy of language Assemblyman Adam Gray has floated to industry stakeholders to fill out his shell bill AB 431 from last year. The new bill may be introduced in the next week, prior to the Feb. 19 deadline for bills to be introduced in 2016. The major development in this proposed language compared to previous bills in the state is a $57 million annual stipend to the horse racing industry in exchange for acceptance not to be operators….