A California bill that would have regulated and taxed online poker within the state of California has been put on the inactive legislative file and will not reappear in the California legislature until 2009. Assemblyman Lloyd Levin introduced the bill, A.B. 2026, and the author put the bill on the inactive legislative file after being requested to do so by the Poker Voters of America, one of the bill’s chief proponents.
PVOA President Jim Tabilo stated that a bipartisan group of coauthors will introduce to the California legislature an updated version of the bill sometime in the first half of 2009. The bill had passed through several committee votes but according to the PVOA the bill had run out of time this year because some changes had to be made to the bill.
A.B. 2026, which is known as The Gambling Control/California Intrastate Online Poker Act, would allow California’s poker rooms to run online poker sites after receiving the appropriate license. The online poker rooms would only be available for California residents. The bill has garnered a lot of attention due to its focus on regulating and taxing the online poker industry, a move that many think the federal government should make instead of trying to ban online poker.
A.B. 2026 will reappear in the California legislature in 2009, stronger than ever.