Despite the fact that no online poker bill has been passed in California in 2014, players may be able to play online poker by the end of August 2014.
In 2014, no bills have been passed to regulate online poker in California. However, that does not mean that players will not be able to play online poker. In fact, players may be able to start playing online poker by the end of August courtesy of the Jipay Nation of Santa Ysabel.
In spite of the fact that there is currently no poker bill in the California state legislature, the Native American tribe believes it may be able to offer online poker without any changes to the law. This tribe is located near Lake Henshaw which is about 20 miles northeast of San Diego.
Statement from the Santa Ysabel Gaming Commission
The tribe says that they have the right to offer Class II gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Class II gaming includes bingo and poker but does not include slots games or house-banked games like blackjack which are considered to be Class III games.
Class II games can only be offered at a physical tribal casino through the Tribal-State Gaming Compact which the Santa Ysabel tribe has had since the year 2005. However, the Santa Ysabel tribe stated they have no interest in providing Class III games at their online casino.
Recent Tribal Online Casino Launch
The tribe launched its online casino in the summer of 2014 and has criticized possible online gaming legislation thus far stating that it benefits the wealthiest tribes. More specifically, the spokesman for the tribe’s online casino Dave Vialpando said that legislation which has been proposed excludes many tribes except those that are wealthy because remote and smaller tribes cannot meet the financial requirements of offering online gaming.
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