The recent amendment to the California online poker bill AB 2863 would ban any poker site that operated illegal for the first five years in the United States. The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) wants to do nothing with the readjusted proposal.
Since PokerStars was a major player in the pre-Black Friday era in America, it would mean that they wouldn’t be able to join the party.
At a potential Monday vote, the bill would have to pass through the state’s Assembly and the last-minute amendment was made in order to give the bill a better chance to do so. The PPA and other parties are however strongly against the amendment.
Advice Poker Players Alliance
The AB 2863 would less likely pass and players would be left dissatisfied with the new restrictions. That’s why the PPA urged lawmakers to reject the amendments in a Thursday press release.
John Pappas, executive director of the PPA Said that they were deeply disappointed with the play of politics at the behest of special interests by Chairman Adam Gray. There has been advocated for the iPoker legislation by the PPA’s members and the proposed amendments threaten to doom it all. Nearly ten years ago the Internet poker debate began and since then lawmakers have been consistently urged to license and regulate online poker by the voice of the PPA.
“During this time, our message remained consistent: protect consumers and promote competition. Unfortunately, some of Chairman’s Gray’s proposed amendments undermine this principle”.
Largest state of the country
For the the first five years sites such as PokerStars would be banned after taking a first glance at the amendment. It would actually be a lifetime ban, according to the PPA that took time to take a closer look. Due to the small chance that the bill passes, poker players in California would even have to wait longer before they can play online.
Adam Gray’s chief of staff, Trent Hager, contradicted with his recent argument to the Los Angeles:
“This deal should secure two-thirds vote in the Assembly. It will be fairly well received in the Senate”.
Some powerful American Indian tribes don’t want PokerStars to operate in California, so the original bill has faced some stiff competition. Now that an online poker bill excludes PokerStars, these tribed are now less likely to give their support.
PokerStars’ parent company, Amaya Inc. still has some powerfull partners in the Golden State which doesn’t mean that Hager is correct in his assumption.
For now, we know that the stiff political opposition holds PokerStars back to enter the Californian online poker market any time soon. For the first time since Black Friday in April 2011, PokerStars did reenter the US market in March, but only in New Jersey. Poker Players in the largest state in the country will have to wait a bit longer for the services of the biggest online poker brand.
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