Mike Gatto, California Assemblyman, informed the media that he is planning to introduce his online poker bill on Tuesday. According to him, it will help the state deal with some issues that used to be a setback for the poker legislation bill to pass.
Gatto gave a brief interview and said that his proposal is likely to unite the communities that have been arguing over the legislation for a long time. He also added that although some actions aimed at accelerating the legislation procedure have been taken, apparently, they were insufficient.
However, the new bill is believed to be special because it puts emphasis on money laundering, increasing the attendance to casinos and last but not least, expanding the gambling market and allowing more operators provide their product and services.
Gatto also said that the initial plan was the bill to be introduced at a later stage. He was hesitating whether to submit it for approval to Reggie Jones-Sawyer and let him take the lead. Then Gatto made the decision to put the legislation back on the agenda but according to him, some significant changes needed to be made.
What makes Gatto’s bill so different is the fact that it requires deposits and withdrawals between $300 and $10,000 to be made personally. In addition, satellite centers are to be established with the aim of dealing with these transactions.
Gatto considers the withdrawals and deposits, made in person, to prevent further disagreements and opposition from those who disapprove of the legislation of any form of online gambling activities. Gatto is hopeful that the bill will protect the vulnerable part of the population from participating in gambling activities. Yet, it encourages players to go to brick and mortar casinos.
Gatto did not miss to pinpoint that there is a probability for some gaming providers to dominate over the smaller ones. That is why he considers the satellite service centers to play a key role in giving the smaller California casinos a chance of survival.
If a prominent gambling provider dominates on the market in Southern California, managers will most probably would be willing to work in collaboration with other casinos, located in other parts of the state. In this case satellite service will be ensured so the players can make deposits and withdraw their winnings. In addition, this technique is supposed to make the brick and mortar casinos even more frequently visited.
However, the legislation bill is considered to be unfavorable, as it intends to exclude PokerStars and the horse racing activities. As a matter of fact, that was the reason why Jones-Sawyer tended to delay the legislation procedure during the previous session.
Gatto is absolutely aware of the fact that the bill might not pass anytime soon. According to him, California officials are far from reaching an agreement but he remains hopeful that a solution will be found by August 2015.
