Daniel Negreanu was among the group of Team PokerStars Pros that descended upon California last year to take part in the "Let California Play!" initiative.
Part of his job was to promote online poker regulation and the PokerStars brand to California citizens.
However, per a recent interview, Negreanu seems to imply that it might be a while before we see California online poker sites forward.
More Important Matters Than Online Poker
Robbie Strazynski caught up with Negreanu at the 2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and one of the questions asked was whether the PokerStars Pro Tour would return and if Negreanu had any details.
Negreanu answered and stated that the tour would "eventually" return to the state but that it was an "interesting time in the state" because lawmakers and most citizens are focused on different issues.
For example, this is an election year and, as we've stated here in the past, many lawmakers are going to be more focused on getting reelected than on passing online poker regulation.
Negreanu also pointed out that California is going through a water crisis right now and that type of issue naturally is going to trump online poker.
Negreanu did clarify that online poker is an important issue, but in the grand scheme of things there is a much smaller portion of citizens that care about online poker as opposed to other issues.
What Does This Mean For 2016?
In short, we believe that Negreanu and PokerStars are taking the long view regarding online poker, and rightly so.
The two major roadblocks to passage are still officially in play and until those are resolved, a bill will not move forward.
Also, Daily Fantasy Sports is receiving the bulk of the attention from lawmakers at present and this will further push back online poker regulation.
Don't misunderstand us. We still believe that online poker regulation is coming to the state but with all the current factors coming to fruition, it is looking more and more likely that it will not happen until next year