With a very important vote on California’s online poker bill possibly coming this week, the problem within the Golden State has arguably never been more high-stakes.

Thanks to recent amendments that experience drawn a brand new divide at the issue, ending the decade-long stalemate before the legislative session ends on Aug. 31 doesn’t appear to be a simple task. A compromise within the type of a virtually $60 million annual subsidy for the pony racing industry finally removed one major hurdle and provided real hope for the legislation earlier this year. Tribal groups didn’t want the racing industry to be involved with online poker.

What is all at stake is an intra-state online poker market worth around $400 million annually and potentially thousands of latest high-tech jobs. Legalizing online poker would also keep California ahead within the gambling sector, as three other states have already got online gambling industries and a number of other more are considering the activity.

As the strain in Sacramento mounts, the editorial board from the city’s largest newspaper believes that the efforts need to be scrapped. The Sacramento Bee op-ed this week called into question how lucrative online poker could be for California’s coffers.

In the newest amendments, the tax rate was lowered to ten percent, that's still significantly above Nevada’s tax rate but not up to rates previously considered by California. Still, the Golden State is currently seeing nothing from the unregulated market. Assemblymember Adam Gray, sponsor of the web poker bill, said at a hearing this year that 1,000,000 Californians still play online poker—and without consumer protections.

It was estimated that California, a state with nearly 40 million people, could support 6-10 unique online poker operators. Way to greater than $7 billion a year in gaming revenue, the state has by far the most important tribal casino market in America. The sheer size of the gambling industry in California, which also includes card rooms and racetracks, makes the state a coveted prize for the web poker industry, but jointly has made it extremely difficult for any consensus to be reached on the way to regulate and tax this kind of gambling expansion.

Also within the proposed amendments is so-called “suitability” language for online gambling companies not based in California. The net poker portals that facilitated games for Americans between 2006 and 2011 in what have been called a legal gray area must sit at the sidelines in California for 5 years, identical to they're in Nevada. However, some have called into question how long the ban would truly be should the bill be implemented.

Amaya Gaming, parent company of PokerStars, has said that litigation will come if the bill passes in its current form as a result of constitutional questions. The bill must pass an entire Assembly vote after which make its way throughout the Senate in only an issue of days.

Read More... [Source: CardPlayer Poker News]