Weekly Roundup April 29 2016
California Online Poker Bill Passes Committee
For the second year in a row, a bill that would legalize and regulate online poker in California passed its first hurdle. The Governmental Organization Committee by a 19-0 margin. The bill is AB 2863. It would permit tribes and card clubs to offer online poker to anybody in the state that is at least 21 years of age.
The bill excludes the horse racing industry from offering online poker. In exchange for this, the horsemen would receive up to the first $60 million in annual tax revenues generated by the California online poker industry. The bad actor issue, the clause that would keep PokerStars out of California, is not yet addressed.
Winning Poker Network Meets $1 Million Tournament Minimum
The Winning Poker Network, which consists of skins like Americas Cardroom, Black Chip Poker and True Poker, offered a $530 No Limit Hold’em tournament on Sunday. The guaranteed prize pool was $1 million. For the first time, the event actually cracked $1 million in buy-ins.
This shows the tremendous growth experienced by the Winning Poker Network in the past year. Many of these tournaments have missed by hundreds of thousands of dollars and an earlier set of events was diluted due to a lack of interest in 2015.
Online Gambling Bill Introduced in Michigan
A bill that would legalize online poker and casino games was introduced in Michigan. The bill was introduced late in the session, hurting its chances, but the climate may be better in Michigan than in other states. The Michigan Lottery already spreads online casino games. This includes video keno and instant scratch off tickets that mimic slot machines. Traditional lottery tickets may also be purchased over the Internet in Michigan.