California Online Poker Stalls Out

Online Poker Futility Serves As A Lesson To California Tribes On Embracing Technology In A Changing Industry

Excerpts:

By Dave Palermo

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Tribal leaders and gambling industry executives are pessimistic of success in getting online poker enacted in the two-year legislative cycle that began in January, largely because of lingering differences over the licensing suitability of PokerStars.

“There is no evidence that the tribes have reconciled that or even demonstrated a willingness to do so,” said Jim Ryan, CEO of Pala Interactive, an enterprise of the Pala Band of Mission Indians.

“Everything I’m being told is that the legislators in Sacramento have been exhausted by the issue. So in the absence of a material catalyst I think iPoker is certainly going nowhere fast.”

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Pala and the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut operate websites offering real-money gambling and social gaming, where players pay for credits to play casino games that do not produce jackpots.

“In the past 3½ years many tribes have provided social gaming offerings over the internet,” Ryan said, including several California Indian bands.

Economists believe the annual North American social gambling market is approaching $4 billion in annual revenue.
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Read the full article at the link above for more information.

California Online Poker Bill Takes A Step Forward

California Online Poker Bill Passes Assembly Appropriations Vote

California Representative Adam Gray’s Assembly Bill 2863 has passed an important Assembly Appropriations Committee vote today, moving on to consideration by the state’s full Assembly body.

AB 2863’s passage from committee came despite continuing opposition from a hardline, obstructionist group of a half-dozen politically important casino-operating tribal nations, led by the Pechanga and Agua Caliente tribes, along with continuing protests from the Sheldon Adelson-funded Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling.

State of CaliforniaHowever, a much larger coalition of AB 2863’s supporting entities were on hand to speak in support of the bill’s passage, including six other of the state’s prominent, casino-operating tribes — the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, the United Auburn Indian Community, the Pala Band of Mission Indians, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation.

Read More Here - California Online Poker Bill Passes Assembly Appropriations Vote

Also:

Lawmakers Seeking Pound Of Flesh From PokerStars For Entry Into California Online Poker Market

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But several members strongly recommended tightening “bad actor” language that would permit, with conditions, the licensing of companies accused of taking U.S. wagers in apparent violation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006.

The committee’s concern about one of the companies – PokerStars, purchased in 2014 by Amaya Gaming – is prompting skepticism the bill will generate the votes needed to get through the legislature. The tax measure will require a two-thirds vote for approval.

Meanwhile, a politically powerful coalition of seven tribes led by the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians and Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians continues to oppose licensing Amaya/PokerStars, which also threatens passage of the bill.

Read More Here - Lawmakers Seeking Pound Of Flesh From PokerStars For Entry Into California Online Poker Market

Pala Poker In The News

Pala Poker Waiting On PokerStars Before Entering US Market

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Pala Poker is holding off on paying the ante in New Jersey, and while the company launched its casino product in November of last year, it believes following PokerStars’ anticipated entry in the third-quarter of 2015 is a more opportune time to debut.

“We will offer Pala Poker in the New Jersey market, but we’ll do it after PokerStars launches,” Jim Ryan, Pala Interactive CEO told CalvinAyre.com recently. “PokerStars has taken the position that when they come into the market they’ll increase consumer awareness and the market will grow; we can only hope that that’s accurate.”

Read Full Article Here-->Pala Poker Waiting On PokerStars Before Entering US Market

California Online Poker May Get August Vote

onlinepokerreport.com - American Indians, Tracks, Card Rooms To Press For Online Poker Despite Pechanga Coalition

Aiming for August vote on poker bill

The San Manuel and Morongo Mission Indians, the Rincon and Pala Luiseño Indians and the United Auburn Indian Community are aligned with Amaya/PokerStars and card rooms in a strong effort to get an online poker bill out of the 2015 session.

The horse racing industry and its organized labor is moving on a similar but parallel track, with all the stakeholders hoping to overcome political opposition from the Pechanga and Agua Caliente group.

“This is the biggest coalition yet behind Internet poker,” said Robyn Black of Eclipse Government Affairs, a lobby for the racing industry.

“If we get consumer groups you’re going to see the coalition grow. If it isn’t a success in 2015 it will be a force in 2016.”

Read more here -->onlinepokerreport.com - American Indians, Tracks, Card Rooms To Press For Online Poker Despite Pechanga Coalition

Pala Interactive Launch Delayed

pokerfuse.com Pala Interactive Puts Online Poker “On Hold” In New Jersey

Ryan said that the plan has changed. “We put that on hold because we do expect PokerStars to enter the market,” Ryan stated about Pala Poker.

Ryan revealed that the company did not expect to garner a large market share anyway, but that the lack of potential liquidity in the market was also a contributing factor in the decision. “[L]iquidity is obviously a challenge, we’ve seen one poker network already exit the marketplace,” Ryan said in reference to the closing of Ultimate Poker last year.

Read Full Article Here-->pokerfuse.com Pala Interactive Puts Online Poker “On Hold” In New Jersey

Also:

calvinayre.com BECKY’S AFFILIATED: JIM RYAN ON PALA INTERACTIVE AND THE STATE OF US REGULATED REAL MONEY GAMING

4flush.com New Jersey Online Poker Launch by Pala Interactive Postponed

Online Gambling News

compatiblepoker.com Amaya Plans Extensive Expansion of PokerStars

By Renee K on Thursday, July 10th, 2014
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Asked about the problems that PokerStars has faced until now by trying to enter the regulated US gambling market, Baazov said that one of the terms of the deal with Amaya was that PokerStars founder Mark Scheinberg and other principals would sell their stock in the company and would no longer be involved in managerial decisions.  Baazov believes that this will give PokerStars a clean slate and allow it to expand in the United States and other regulated jurisdictions around the world.

Read More Here -->compatiblepoker.com Amaya Plans Extensive Expansion of PokerStars


casinocitytimes.com - California Indian casino built and managed by Station Casinos rising to top of class

8 July 2014
By Howard Stutz
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But one analyst hinted recently the Indian casino — which was built by Station Casinos, Inc. and is being operated by the locals gaming giant — is quickly rising to the top of the class in tribal gaming-rich California.

The casino cost $800 million and is owned by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. The property, 45 minutes north of downtown San Francisco, took 10 years to get through the various federal and state regulatory approvals.
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In the quarter that ended March 31, Graton generated $101 million in revenue and $57 million, cash flow. Station Casinos earned $7.4 million in management fees.

Credit Suisse gaming analyst Joel Simkins told investors the Graton numbers make the resort one of the most profitable and highest margin regional casinos around.
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Graton also has a potential advantage should California legalize Internet poker.

The casino can partner with Station Casinos-owned Ultimate Gaming. The company operates Ultimate Poker in Nevada and is the online gaming provider for the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City.
Read More Here--> casinocitytimes.com - California Indian casino built and managed by Station Casinos rising to top of class

Also:

politico.com Adelson makes fifth new hire to fight online gaming

vegasinc.com Online gaming hasn’t lived up to its hype

totallygaming.com Political heavyweights to discuss pros and cons of internet gambling in San Francisco

Bwin.Party Might Be For Sale Soon

The CEO of Pala Interactive LLC is Jim Ryan.  He was formerly Co-CEO of Bwin.Party.

bloomberg.com Bwin.Party Online Casino Said to Weigh Possible Sale

By Christopher Palmeri  Jun 26, 2014

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Plc, (BPTY) a pioneer of online gambling, is considering selling some or all of the company as part of a strategic review, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

The Gibraltar-based company, a partner in New Jersey’s new online betting market with Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, hired Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) to consider its options, said the people, who requested anonymity because the matter isn’t public. The company will decide within two months, one person said. In a statement today, Bwin said it has no plans to break up or sell the company.

The discussions follow a share drop, a change in board leadership and a disappointing start to online betting in the U.S. A new threat emerged this month when PokerStars, the world’s dominant poker website, agreed to be sold in a deal that could hasten its re-entry to the fledgling U.S. market after an absence of several years.

Read More Here --> bloomberg.com Bwin.Party Online Casino Said to Weigh Possible Sale

***WARNING*** 

Chairman Robert Smith, Chairman of the Pala Band of Mission Indians, Pala Band of Luiseno Indians, Pala Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pala Reservation, is monitoring your comments.  He is going to track your IP address and "take action" against any tribal member posting comments he does not like.

PokerStars Makes Progress In New Jersey

www.casino.org - PokerStars Could Return to New Jersey Market by Fall

JUNE 27, 2014 BY DAVID SHELDON

PokerStars’ carefully orchestrated sale to Amaya Gaming for $4.9 billion looks like it might well pay off for the world’s biggest poker site. The ink was still running down the page on that $4.9 billion contract when New Jersey gaming officials announced that they had met with representatives from Amaya, and this week they told the Associated Press that they were optimistic that PokerStars may be able to join the New Jersey market as early as this fall.

Read More Here --> www.casino.org - PokerStars Could Return to New Jersey Market by Fall 

Also see:

osga.com - Does Amaya Gaming’s purchase of PokerStars and Full Tilt open the way to the U.S. market?

By: Hartley Henderson - Exclusive to OSGA.com

Published: Jun 26, 2014 

The poker world was provided quite the shock recently when it was announced that Amaya Gaming will be purchasing PokerStars and Full Tilt poker for $4.9 billion. While there had been some speculation about the sale for a few months prior, most in the industry believed the sale would never be consummated due to the cost.

For those unfamiliar with the Quebec based company, Amaya entered the online gaming market in 2004 supplying software for electronic poker tables. In 2006 they hired David Baazov a 26 year-old entrepreneur as CEO and he made it quite clear at the time that his goal was to make Amaya a major player in all realms of legal government regulated online gambling through acquisitions. The company did have a few small acquisitions at first but really made a splash in 2011 and 2012 when they made several major purchases. First in early 2011 they purchased gaming software company Chartwell Technologies for $22.8 million; later that year they purchased Cryptologic for $36 million; late in the year they purchased Cadillac Jack for $167 million; and finally in 2012 they bought bwin.party's surplus Ongame poker Network for $15 million. As well, Amaya inked a partnership agreement with Australian based Aristocrat gaming and not surprisingly revenues at Amaya soared by over 200%.

But as successful as those deals had been the purchase of PokerStars and Full Tilt from the Oldford Group (parent company of the Rational Group) puts Amaya in a position to be the biggest online gambling company in the world.

Read More Here --> osga.com - Does Amaya Gaming’s purchase of PokerStars and Full Tilt open the way to the U.S. market?

***WARNING*** 

Chairman Robert Smith, Chairman of the Pala Band of Mission Indians, Pala Band of Luiseno Indians, Pala Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pala Reservation, is monitoring your comments.  He is going to track your IP address and "take action" against any tribal member posting comments he does not like.

Amaya Gaming Buying PokerStars

Amaya Gaming is in the process of buying PokerStars for $4.9 Billion.

What exactly does this mean?  Well, PokerStars has been a bit of fly in the ointment stalling legislation in California that could legalize online poker in the Golden State.  Some California tribes have insisted on Bad Actor language in legislation which would essentially lock out PokerStars from the California Online Poker Market.  At the same time Morongo, Card Parlors, and Horse Tracks have partnered with PokerStars to develop online poker in the event it becomes legal in California.

With PokerStars being bought by another company perhaps now they would be able to participate in the California Market.  If this is the case then some of the last road blocks preventing online poker from being legal in California could be removed.  If the Bad Actor clause is no longer an issue then presumably Morongo, Card Parlors, Horse Tracks, and the rest of the tribes in California could agree on some form of the current proposed legislation.

For more information you can read the following:

Forbes - Amaya Gaming In Deal To Buy PokerStars For $4.9 Billion



***WARNING***
Chairman Robert Smith, Chairman of the Pala Band of Mission Indians, Pala Band of Luiseno Indians, Pala Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pala Reservation, is monitoring your comments.  He is going to track your IP address and "take action" against any tribal member posting comments he does not like.

Rough Start For New Jersey Online Gambling

New Jersey's online gambling flop threatens the rest of the state's spending

Staff
New York Business Journal

Last May, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie estimated the state would bring in about $180 million this fiscal year from online gambling taxes. That’s looking like a wild overestimate, as the state currently projects to draw in about $12 million.

Read More Here - New Jersey's online gambling flop threatens the rest of the state's spending



More Online Gambling News:

American Gaming Association Pulls Support For Online Gambling

N.J. Online Casinos Reassess Marketing After Slow Start

PokerStars Steals the Show at California iGaming Conference

Equity Poker Network withdraws from US markets

Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson leads charge against online gambling

Bad Actors - Not Just For Movies

If you have been following the push to get Online Poker legalized in California over the past year or so then you have probably heard something about a "bad actor" clause being added to the proposed legislation.  This language in various forms of the proposed legislation has been backed by several tribes including Pala.  The purpose is to ban certain "bad actors" from participating in California's Online Poker market in the event legislation is passed making online poker legal in California.

So who are the bad actors some tribes are trying to ban?  Well, it goes back to something dubbed "black friday" where 3 of the largest online poker operators at the time were indicted by the U.S. Government for violating the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).  These companies are PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Cereus (Absolute Poker/Ultimatebet).

The U.S. Government ended up dismissing the cases against PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker with prejudice and settling out of court.  I am not sure what the status of any suit against Cereus is.

What makes the bad actor clause curious to me is what was reported in a previous article titled:

BWIN.PARTY SLUMPS ON REVENUE WARNING; RYAN’S CALIFORNIA TIE-UP RAISES EYEBROWS.

July 10, 2013

X-BWIN.PARTY CEO JIM RYAN’S PALA INTERACTIVE JV RAISES EYEBROWS

Bwin.party shed some more legal baggage last December when former co-CEO Jim Ryan (pictured above) agreed to walk the plank rather than complicate Bwin.party’s pursuit of various US gaming licenses. While Ryan said at the time that he was looking forward to spending more time with his family in Canada, he has since resurfaced at the head of Pala Interactive, an online gambling joint venture with California’s Pala Band of Mission Indians. For the moment, the business is entirely speculative, as the Golden State struggles to reach consensus between legislators and stakeholders in order to make online gambling a legal reality.

PokerFuse reported that Pala interactive intended to offer both online poker and casino games in California, which is odd, since none of the state’s recent draft bills envisioned anything other than a poker-only system. Odder still is the fact that Ryan has found common cause with the Pala band, whose chairman Robert Smith has been very vocal about prohibiting so-called ‘bad actors’ from ever participating in a regulated online gambling system. In May, Smith signed his name in support of a draft bill that would bar any company, individual or software that accepted US customers not just post-UIGEA, but at any time, from California’s regulated online market.

Can Smith really be unaware that Ryan was once head of Excapsa, the parent company of Ultimate Bet, a poker outfit that continued to accept US customers right up until the US Department of Justice pulled the rug out on Black Friday? While Ryan had by then moved on to head up PartyGaming, public documents confirm that he was still calling the shots at Excapsa months after the UIGEA was signed into law in October 2006. What’s more, Ryan presided over Excapsa during UB’s infamous cheating scandal and the ensuing coverup, and Pala Interactive apparently intends to use the same Realtime Edge software that allowed Russ Hamilton and others to cheat other players out of millions of dollars (although the software’s ‘god mode’ has since been patched to prevent a recurrence).

Read More Here - BWIN.PARTY SLUMPS ON REVENUE WARNING; RYAN’S CALIFORNIA TIE-UP RAISES EYEBROWS

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So I guess who is a bad actor and who is not is really a matter of perspective and business deals.  To me it looks like some tribes are just trying to block potential competition from entering the State rather than truly looking to block bad actors.

Even more curious is why Robert Smith would push a bad actor clause which could risk Jim Ryan's participation in Pala Interactive.  Could Jim Ryan be dubbed a bad actor under the current proposed legislation given the fact that he was once involved with Excapsa?

Oh wait, probably not if you have a hand in proposing and crafting the legislation...

CALIFORNIA REVISES ONLINE GAMBLING BILL; BALLY GETS NEVADA ONLINE POKER NOD

Excerpt:

The bill also changed language regarding a licensee’s ability to partner with technology suppliers. The original clause barring any company that took wagers from US citizens after Dec. 31, 2006 has been amended to exclude only those companies that “knowingly and willfully” engaged in such nefarious antics. The reason for the change is, for the moment, unknown, but it’s been previously suggested by poker blogger Haley Hintze that the original selection of the Dec. 31 date – as opposed to the more logical October 13, 2006 date on which President George W. Bush signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) into law – was a way of bringing current Bwin.party co-CEO Jim Ryan in from the cold.

In 2006, Ryan was still at the helm of Excapsa, the parent company of online poker site Ultimate Bet. It’s not precisely clear when Ryan officially fled the Excapsa nest, but the last recorded public document on which Ryan’s name appears in connection with Excapsa was a Canadian court’s approval of the company entering liquidation on Dec. 22, 2006. Bwin.party signed a joint venture online poker deal last month with California’s United Auburn Indian Community, a deal that could have been in jeopardy if the UIGEA signing date was chosen as the ‘suitability’ cutoff. Guess there are some instances in which lobbyists really are worth every penny.

Read Full Article Here - CALIFORNIA REVISES ONLINE GAMBLING BILL; BALLY GETS NEVADA ONLINE POKER NOD


Will this bad actor clause fly?  To me it looks doubtful especially since PokerStars had recently signed deals with Morongo and LA Card Rooms.  Who ever spends the most money will likely win.  What they will win exactly I am not sure...especially since we are not even factoring the anti-online gambling billionaire Sheldon Adelson.

Self-Centered Poker Pros

Long article but here is an excerpt:

Self-Centered Poker Pros Tarnish the Game for Everyone

Law suits aside, it appears the Pala Indians in California still want Phil Ivey to be their brand ambassador for the launch of Pala Interactive if and when online poker is launched in the state. And in related news the Morongo Indians are trying to convince the state that PokerStars should not be banned as a bad actor and be allowed to partner with them for legal online California poker. How a company that paid over $714 million to the feds and was exonerated is a bad actor while Phil Ivey who admitted to cheating to get an advantage over the casino isn't a bad actor is beyond me. But that's a topic for a different article.

Read Full Article Here - Self-Centered Poker Pros Tarnish the Game for Everyone

In related news:

Edge sorting: Did Phil Ivey cheat, or just outwit casino?