PokerStars has joined forces with a number of California tribal casinos and cardrooms to launch an online poker coalition in an effort to promote an open and fair market for any future regulated internet poker market in the state. The new ‘Californians for Responsible iPoker’ group features five tribal-gaming groups as well as the Commerce, Bicycle and Hawaiian Gardens cardrooms. Each member of the group has already reached an agreement with PokerStars to use the online poker operator’s software should the state opt to regulate internet poker activities. PokerStars said the group will enable it to demonstrate in state-level hearings…

California’s chances at passing an online poker bill in 2015 may be all but dead and buried if secondhand statements attributed to State Senator and Governmental Organization (GO) Committee Chairman Isadore Hall III can be taken at face value. A recent column by John Howard that appeared in Capitol Weekly quotes two sources – one named and one unnamed – who claim to have spoken with Hall recently on the issue of online poker, and both indicated that despite the progress the issue has made in the Assembly, online poker is a dead issue in the Senate. “He said he…

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…

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…

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…