A committee in the legislative department of California has heard a petition to allow internet poker in the state making it the first step in the creation of intrastate internet gambling planned by card rooms and tribes.
According to the proponents of the proposal, they are hoping that California will be able to get revenue from an industry that is currently illegal. Legalizing it can mean tax would come in for the state.
However, some tribes living in within the boundaries of California are opposed to the new intrastate online poker proposal. According to a leader of the Luiseno Indians, the games would violate the exclusive gambling agreement between the state and the tribes.
State Senator Roderick Wright, the chairman of the committee who heard the debates on the proposal, said that the tax revenue that would come from online poker would greatly help California.
A research was submitted last week wherein it pointed out that the proposed intrastate online poker could generate as much as $536 million worth of sales, 10 percent of which would go to taxes that can be added to California’s budget next year.
According to Senator Wright, the plan to legalize internet poker could create enough stir if not approved that it can even be taken up to the court.
