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…

California online poker bill AB 431, a shell bill calling for the generalized creation of a regulatory framework to govern intrastate online poker in the Golden State, was passed forward from the California State Assembly’s Appropriations Committee for later consideration by the state’s full Assembly body. The exact vote count for the moving of AB 431 from the Appropriations Committee has yet to be published.  Poker Players Alliance Vice President Rich Muny issued a Tweet stating that the vote was unanimous.  However, California-based Gambling Compliance writer Chris Krafcik posted a countering Tweet minutes later, stating that GOP members of the…

Two influential American Indian tribes are publicly asking a politically powerful tribal coalition to ease its opposition to extending eligibility for online poker website licenses to California race tracks, but skepticism remains that a bill will make it out of the legislature this year. Council member Laurie E. Gonzalez of the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians in a May 20 press release urged that tribes reach consensus on online poker legislation “rather than digging their heels into the ground,” an obvious reference to steadfast opposition against licensing race tracks by the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians and six other coalition…

PokerStars is bringing the big guns to California. Two of the site’s most recognizable faces (at least for the American audience) will be in California’s capitol city this week, as Jason Somerville and Daniel Negreanu will host a live demo at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento on May 21 from 10am – 12pm. The demonstration, which will include the chance to play against the pros (play-money, of course), will come just one day after a joint Senate / Assembly informational hearing for online poker. The demonstration will occur in parallel with the Capitol Weekly California Gaming Conference, which OPR will…

iGaming Business – Online poker supporters in California are celebrating a step forward for legalisation in the US state. The Assembly Governmental Organisation Committee (GO) voted unanimously in favor of advancing AB 431, sponsored by Assemblymember Adam Gray. While this move does not make it law, it pushes it along to the next legislative step and is significant because it is a first legislative victory for poker in California and it was unclear that it would have enough support to progress. The vote was welcomed by the ‘Amaya Coalition’, which is a group of interested parties including PokerStars owner Amaya…

iGaming Business – The so-called ‘bad actor’ clause could be altered when a fresh internet poker bill is presented in the US state of California in the next legislative session. Internet poker bills from California Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer and Senator Joe Correa were introduced by their authors in February this year, but ultimately scrapped earlier this month. However, Jones-Sawyer has suggested that the controversial bad actor clause – which excluded any operator or market affiliate involved in online gaming in the US after December 31, 2006 from applying for a licence – might be reworded for the 2015-16 legislative session….