California Intrastate Poker Legislation Not All Sunshine and Roses for Players?

Anyone thinking that the push by the state of California’s push to legalize intrastate online poker would be an easy deal got a splash of cold water in the face today. The splash came in the form of a forum post by PPA state director Steve Miller, who wrote that the current form of the legislation being bandied about contains no less than three items that should cause poker players serious concern. In no particular order, those three points are that:

(1) A maximum of three (3) “hub” operators will be allowed licenses;

(2) It will be a criminal misdemeanor for California residents to play online poker on any but the (up to) three officially regulated sites;

(3) Existing sites which have offered services to California residents, post-UIGEA — which includes PokerStars, Full Tilt and others — would automatically be deemed unsuitable to receive ongoing licensure.

Obviously, the second of the three points is the biggest sticking point, and it’s doubtful that the PPA or its state rep Miller, who has been asked to testify before a state congressional committee this week, would get behind any licensing or regulatory plan that included such language. I’d go so far as to predict that if the language isn’t modified, the PPA will issue a really, really strongly worded press releases in protest. (That’ll teach ‘em.) But more seriously, California legislators may be surprised to learn that if they treat their intended customers like crap to begin the whole process, those intended customers may well tell them to go suck air and refuse to get behind the measure. There’s a faint whiff of the onerous triabl casino-backed Washington-State train of thought behind the proposals, suggesting that the various tribal groups in California that are already against online gaming have had a hand in crafting this current version of the measure.

Miller, the California PPA rep, has asked interested parties to visit the CA PPA Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?…162455344&ap=1 to air their thoughts as California poker players formalize their response to the matter.

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