Last week we reported that a new draft of AB 431 was filed in the California Assembly.
The purpose of the new draft was to keep the fight for online poker alive ahead of a key legislative deadline.
Since that time new details have emerged about the draft and it appears that a completely new bill has been filed.
AB 2863 Introduced
Instead of a “new draft of AB 431,” a new bill has been submitted by co-sponsors Adam Gray and Reggie Jones-Sawyer.
AB 2863, the Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2016, will establish a framework for regulating online poker in California.
Much of what we reported last week is spelled out in this bill. Below are a few highlights:
- Operators taxed at 15% gross revenue
- No “bad actor clause”
- Poker Only
- Horse racing industry to receive up to $60 million in payments each year
The provision for the $60 million is to be paid by a combination of licensing fees and taxes.
This new bill doesn’t presently set tax rates or licensing fees, so it is unclear based on this new bill how much the industry will have to pull in to make ends meet.
Luck-Based Poker Games Excluded – Felony to Play on Unregulated Sites
A couple of interesting provisions for this new bill include language barring luck-based games offered as "poker."
This means that certain tournaments such as “Auto All-In” or Kamikaze style tournaments will be banned.
It will be interesting to see how far this provision is carried and whether certain games such as PokerStars’ Spin & Go tournaments will be prohibited.
Next, it will be illegal for players to play online poker at unregulated or unlicensed sites under this bill.
It is uncertain whether this provision will be allowed to stand but it will be interesting to see how they plan to enforce this law.
Online Poker Still a Year Away After Bill Passes
Even if this bill were to pass online poker players will still have to wait up to a year before they can play regulated online poker.
There is a 270-day window built into the bill to allow California regulators to draft and approve iPoker regulations. Afterwards, you have your typical period for licensing, development and testing.
In short, even if this bill were to pass sometime in 2016, it will be mid to late-2017 before online poker will pass.
Bill Still Has a Ways to Go Before Passing
While this bill is a much improved version of AB 431 it still needs to have certain provisions filled out before it can move forward to law.
Also, as a new bill it will need to go through all committee votes just like AB 431. The question is now whether it will gain enough support to move forward to a vote this year.
With so much focus by the state on Daily Fantasy Sports it will be interesting to see if the bill has support to even move out of committee.
Should this bill not move forward within the next few weeks we may have to wait for the DFS drama to play out before iPoker gets another look.