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Intrastate Poker Gets Governmental Hearing in California

The idea of online intrastate poker in California has been floated for a few years now, but it’s only within the last few months that the concept has moved from brainstorm to business plan.

The first concrete steps toward regulated online poker in California were taken last August, when the Morongo Band of Mission Indians assembled a group of like-minded casino gaming tribes and coordinated with the Commerce Casino and the Bicycle Club to develop a framework for offering online poker to Californians.

Opposition from some other tribal groups and a lack of a clear legislative path stalled those efforts in the fall, but it appears that the Morongo are treating that setback as little more than a stumbling block. The tribe continues to reach out to opposition groups and appears to be betting that a February 9th hearing regarding online gambling in California before The Senate Governmental Organization Committee will not only help to generate new momentum for the initiative, but resolve concerns voiced by opponents.

Among the primary issues of concern: whether allowing online gambling would in any way interfere with current gaming compacts between the tribes and the California State Government and if such a business would run afoul of any Federal statues.

Some analysts believe that no matter the results of the hearing, the Morongo coalition simply won’t be able to muster enough tribal support to get the legislative motor running. “The other tribes don’t want it at all,” said Vin Narayanan, managing editor of industry publication Casino City. “As far as they’re concerned, it violates the state compact they have. They’re worried that if people are gambling online, they won’t make it out to the tribal casinos.”

Even if the initiative does make it into the current session and somehow becomes law, its success from a business perspective is by no means guaranteed. Despite its large population, it’s still quite possible that California doesn’t have a player base sufficient to ensure a core liquidity for the room. It’s also unclear what carrot a new room would be able to offer existing players to draw them away from other rooms in a highly competitive market.

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