California Online Poker Bills Likely Dead for 2011

California legislators have recently had to consider two different bills that would legalize online poker – and in one case, possibly other online casino games as well. However, the leader of the State Senate now says that neither bill will be passing anytime soon.

According to Senate President Pro Tem Darrel Steinberg, efforts to pass either of the two online gambling bills are dead for the remainder of 2011. As the legislative year ends on September 9, there was little time remaining for either bill to work its way through the state legislature.

“Significant, unresolved issues remain, including tribal exclusivity and waiver of sovereign immunity, the types of games that would be authorized, who would be eligible to apply for gaming site licenses and potential federal constitutional questions,” Steinberg said.

However, Steinberg did leave open the possibility of trying again in January, saying that “there is time to get this right, and it is imperative that we do so.”

The two competing bills would open California’s online gambling market in two very different ways. One bill, sponsored by State Senator Lou Correa, would allow only online poker, and require that the operators of the online poker sites were located entirely in California – effectively limiting the opportunity to run a site to only local poker rooms and Native American casinos.

Meanwhile, a bill introduced by State Senator Rod Wright would legalize online gambling without singling out poker as the only game allowed. It would limit the number of operators in the state to three, but would allow applicants from outside the state to participate in the bidding for those three licenses.

Most observers believe that Correa’s bill is much more likely to be successfully passed, as it has the support of the California Online Poker Association (COPA), a statewide alliance of poker rooms and tribal groups. However, some have come out against the bill, saying that the benefits to California’s economy aren’t worth the potential increase in problem gambling.