California Bill to be Reintroduced in January

A bill to study online poker in California has been put on hold for the year but will be reintroduced in January, the bill's citizen sponsor announced on Tuesday evening.

"We just ran out of time for the current legislative session," Jim Tabilio, president of the Poker Voters of America, said in a prepared statement.

The California Intrastate Online Poker Legalization Bill, introduced in February 2008 by Assemblymember Lloyd Levine, Democrat of Van Nuys, proposed a study of the legality of an intrastate online poker scheme in California pursuant to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

The bill has made noticeable progress in the State Senate since its introduction, particularly by way of easing potential investors' minds on the pragmatics of the plan, Mr. Tabilio said.

However, moving forward, and with a reintroduction in the coming year, Mr. Tabilio said the focus will be answering the questions on "how the plan can generate enough revenue for the state."

"We want to provide enough detailed information so stakeholders -- including Native American tribes and licensed card clubs in California -- can work in cooperation with Poker Voters to craft specific legislation that will provide the best path to build a system that quickly generates income for operators and revenue for the state," he said.

Poker Voters will sponsor a session to bring stakeholders, regulators, staff and legislators together with experts in all aspects of legal online poker operations at a mid-October conference in California.

Click here to view a copy of the press release.