With 2015 drawing to a close we're beginning to take a look back at the year that was.
Online poker wasn't regulated in California this year but positive progress was made towards that goal.
Here are three positive steps taken towards California online poker regulation in 2015.
1. Pechanga Show Signs of Cooperation
The last thing that most of us expected to see from the Pechanga Coalition at any point in 2015 was a spirit of cooperation but that is what we received in their offer of a compromise to the horse racing industry.
They offered two potential deals to the industry. The first was a revenue share system that would essentially guarantee an annual check to the industry.
The other deal was an affiliate deal that would allow them to become partners with one of the card rooms or casinos and receive a fee for every player they signed up.
The industry rejected these two deals but the important takeaway was that the Pechanga showed a willingness to negotiate. This could come into play again next year, especially if PA decides to regulate online poker.
2. Increased Public Awareness and Activism
After remarks by Assemblyman Mike Gatto regarding the lack of constituent contact regarding online poker, PokerStars started a campaign to get Californian citizens more involved.
First, they set up the Californians for Responsible iPoker website and began the "Let California Play!" initiative.
Next, they formed the PokerStars Pro Tour and traveled around to about a dozen card rooms throughout California promoting PokerStars and legal online poker.
Part of this tour allowed citizens to reach out to state lawmakers to ask them to support California online poker. PokerStars took the initiative to increase public awareness and activism and will likely do the same in 2016.
3. Bill Progressed Out of Committee - Sort Of
For the first time we finally saw a California online poker bill move out of committee. The only problem was that it was a shell bill.
AB 431 was actually able to pass out of committee earlier this year and made it all the way to the Assembly floor.
The problem was that the bill was never completed and the Pechanga reversed their support on the bill after lawmakers failed to fill in details.
The positive takeaway from this is that there was a willingness to move forward with the process.
In 2016, expect lawmakers to push a completed bill from the onset. This could be expedited by PA regulating online poker.
While the major issues surrounding online poker remain, there's no reason why lawmakers can't at least setup a framework for regulating online poker and later hammer out any differences.