The dispute, concerning the legalisation of the online gambling activities in California, was suspended when one of the bills, aimed at enabling the Californian residents take advantage of online gambling services was put on hold. Almost a month ago, it became clear that the gambling rules and regulations within the state remain the same at least until the end of the year. It is not certain what next year has in store. Yet, there is hope things to change for the better in 2015.
Too Many Things to Pay Attention to, Too Little Time
Lou Correa who is both – the State Senator and the chairman of the Senate Governmental Organisational Committee, responsible for the gambling activities in California, has authored Bill SB 1366. However, the main concern was the lack of time for discussing all the advantages and disadvantages of the new law and refining it to a point, which would make the lawmakers vote and accept the proposal.
AB 2291, which is the second bill, might have the same destiny. For the time being, it is put on hold by the Committee’s authorities and it doesn’t seem like they are going to discuss it in the foreseeable future.
California was said to be the forth state after Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey to make the online gambling legal but unfortunately authorities’ apathy and idleness towards the issue, made the chances of legalising the online gambling in the state really slim.
The Optimistic Attitude is Gone for Good
This setback was somehow unexpected, bearing the number of lawmakers, who support the bill, in mind. However, the interest-based lobbying has a lot to do with this late halt. A typical example is the casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. He is against legalising the online gambling activities in California and did whatever it takes to prevent it. He invested more than $300, 000 in protecting his interests or to be more precise, in protecting the interests of the land-based casinos he owns.
Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars – the Bone of Contention
California’s lawmakers could not settle around a decision, concerning the unlicensed operators, providing online gambling goods and services in the state. Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars are the most popular platforms in the online gambling industry. They are, as a matter of fact, the largest operators in regulated markets. While some of the authorities want to ban them completely, others consider them to be suitable for being legalised and included in the new rules and regulations.
Less significant issues were raised as well, which led the Californian lawmakers to the conclusion that the controversial points have to be discussed and resolved but that is not likely to happen before December, 2014.
