It didn’t happen this year. But Amaya Inc., owner of PokerStars, is confident that the march of history will eventually pay off its lobbying efforts to persuade the California legislature to legalize iPoker in the Golden State.
Amaya, based in Quebec, Canada, wants to tap the estimated California market of $380 million annually for online poker. There are only estimates since the activity is so far illegal in most U.S. states.
PokerStars made a concerted effort to generate a grassroots support for iPoker, including sending poker superstars on a tour of the state’s card rooms.
When the legislative session ended on September it ended without a viable iPoker bill. Now Amaya is looking forward to the 2016 session.
Eric Hollreiser, a spokesman for Amaya, told the National Post, “We see a lot of momentum and it’s really a question of when not if, and obviously we’re hoping that it’s sooner rather than later.”
Last week Amaya CEO David Baazov declared, “Regulation ensures license holders have the correct auditing, fraud and fund protection in place to protect consumers and allow strict government oversight.” He added, “To achieve those objectives it’s important to support and lobby for clarity and regulation that will allow consumers and governments to feel secure in knowing that they’re protected by a legitimate, forward-looking industry.”
