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….

New York will have another crack at online poker. Legislation that would regulate online poker sites in the Empire State was re-introduced this week. The measure was considered last year but didn’t gain any traction in Albany. The bill is from Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, who is pushing legislation along with Sen. Bonacic, who has yet to re-introduce his proposal. Both are at the helm of gaming and racing committees. The latter’s poker bill was up for public discussion in the fall, although a vote wasn’t held. New York held the hearing in early September on whether to regulate online poker…

That annual chatter regarding online poker regulation in various states has already begun for 2016. The problem is that much of the chatter is going on outside of California and Pennsylvania. While any discussion regarding iPoker regulation is positive, the reality is that much of it is glorified lip service. While it is great that Massachusetts and Washington State are already talking about regulation this year, there’s nothing that leads us to believe that they will lead to even as much as a positive committee vote. Frankly, until Pennsylvania or California regulate online poker, most talk towards that end is…

Breaking reports from Kentucky-based news outlets have revealed that a county-level circuit judge issued a massive $290 million judgment last month against PokerStars and its current parent, Canada-based Amaya Gaming, as part of an ongoing case brought by a private firm representing the state’s interests against PokerStars and other offshore sites who once serviced Kentucky players. Local news reports confirm that Franklin Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate awarded the $290 million judgment against several defendants, including Amaya Group Holdings and a subsidiary connected to Stars or Full Tilt operations on Nov. 20.  The state brought its action against the original Full Tilt, PokerStars,…

If New York opens the door to legalized online poker, there will be no shortage of gambling interests trying to get a piece of the action. Representatives from Caesars, MGM Resorts International and the state’s racetrack casinos were among those who testified Wednesday at a state Senate hearing on the future of Internet poker in New York, where it’s currently illegal. At various points, the individual gambling interests made the case — some subtly, others directly — that they’d be best-suited to hold an online-poker license should the game be legalized in the state, a step that’s far from certain….

Brazil has a long and complicated history when it comes to gambling in general and poker in particular. The latest development, according to an article published on CardsChat*, the country has passed a law banning the playing of online poker in public. Anyone caught using their mobile device to access an online poker site while in a public space now faces a stiff fine and, in certain cases, potentially a short jail sentence. At first glance, it may seems surprising that the Brazilian government would clamp down in this way, given that the overall trend seems to have been towards…