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 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…

A key senator in New York said that a daily fantasy sports bill trails online poker legislation in its chances of becoming law before a looming deadline. Sen. John Bonacic, the chair of the Racing, Gaming, and Wagering committee, did an interview with Time Warner Cable News on Monday. In it, he spoke at length about two different gaming bills in front of the legislature. When asked whether a bill regulating online poker or a bill regulating DFS — both authored by him — had a better shot at becoming law, he said “online poker” without hesitation. You can see…

On Thursday morning, the New York Senate Finance Committee quickly passed Senator John Bonacic’s online poker legalization bill, S5302. The bill will now head to the Senate floor for future consideration. Momentum of any kind is certainly welcome. But based on the comments of a key figure in the New York Assembly, as well as the lack of public hearings on the topic, online poker legalization in the Empire State appears to be a long shot. In a column at LegalSportsReport.com, Dustin Gouker reported Assemblyman Gary Pretlow was “pessimistic” when it comes to online poker this session. And Pretlow would…

At the Friday May 13 meeting of the Nevada Gaming Policy Committee, Governor Brian Sandoval said that he was willing to sign an interstate compact to share online poker liquidity with New Jersey immediately. “I’m ready to go,” said the governor, adding, “It’s a win-win for both states.” The governor was immediately backed by A.G. Burnett, the chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Burnett said that he was “ready, willing and able” to sign an interstate agreement with New Jersey. The Policy Committee was clearly unsure as to why New Jersey was not equally enthusiastic. The committee told the…

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…