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The Inside Scoop – California Love & a Big Week in NJ

poker affiliate Inside Scoop Column


I typically publish this Inside Scoop column on Wednesdays, however this week the poker Internets were buzzing with news about California, so I took a few days to absorb it all.

So let’s get started!

California’s Online Poker Hearing

If you’re a part of the online poker media, or someone interested in U.S. online gambling regulation, there’s a good chance that you were glued to your laptop on Wednesday afternoon listening to the testimonies being given in front of the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization. And don’t worry; if you missed the hearing, you can listen to it here.

So here are the cliff notes:

On Wednesday, many of the biggest names in regulated gambling came together to give hours of testimony both for and against regulated online gambling in California.

Much of the discussions focused on the collaboration and consensus amongst the various Indian tribes throughout the Golden State. The largest point of contention is without a doubt the inclusion or exclusion of the bad actor clause.

What is the Bad Actor Clause?

The term “bad actor” refers to any online gaming company that continued to accept wagers in the U.S. after UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) was passed in 2006.

It is each individual states decision to place a bad actor clause or not in any bill. All three states that currently have regulated and legalized online gambling in the various forms all have different bad actor clauses in their legislation.

Speaking of bad actors, PokerStars……….

One of the most interesting parts of the day happened during the third panel session when news emerged that PokerStars just put a press release out to the public.

The press release disclosed that PokerStars had officially partnered with not only the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, but also California’s largest card rooms; Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Gardens Casino, and Commerce Club.

To sum it all up in one sentence, this would be PokerStars “Battle of the Alamo” moment in history. Stars knows good and well that if they miss the boat in California, their hopes of doing business in the regulated U.S. markets will become even more of an uphill battle.

And with California presenting a market over 4 times larger than that of New Jersey, don’t expect Stars to give up without a relentless fight.

A few of the best write-ups I have found regarding California, bad actors, and PokerStars are listed below:

California Gambler

Hearing Wrapup

24 Things We Learned at the California Online Poker Hearing

Online Poker Report

PokerStars Big Announcement

Summary of CA online poker hearing

New Jersey Poker Online

PokerStars California presence and it’s impact on New Jersey

A big week In New Jersey for poker

While all the attention has been focused on California this week, New Jersey has been rocking and rolling with their own excitement. The World Poker Tour’s championship $15,400 buy-in event sponsored by nj.partypoker.com has been going on every day at the Borgata Casino Hotel & Resort.

With a $5 million guarantee, this event has made history in New Jersey, as it’s the first time in its 11-year tenure that the event has ever been held outside of Las Vegas. Without a doubt, this goes to show the significance of regulated online gambling in New Jersey.

In addition to the WPT’s richest annual event, the nj.partypoker.com NJCOP (New Jersey Championship of Poker) has also been underway. With 15 events, this series guaranteed New Jersey online players over $600,000in prize pools throughout the week.

Many industry analysts and followers are watching both these events closely, as it appears that the New Jersey online poker market may be stagnating a bit.

Check back to this column next, as we will analyze both of these events in New Jersey, as well as report on any new developments in California. And after such a busy week following the California market, it only makes sense to end the column and head into the weekend with this song.

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