|
 |
| Jackpots |
All of the largest jackpots, listed in one convenient location! Millions of dollars are being won each month! to join the thousands of winners!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Site News |
Tribe pushes for legal Web gambling
Tribe pushes for legal Web gambling
Published: August 16, 2009
The Morongo Band of Mission Indians has joined forces with California card clubs in an effort to legalize Internet poker in the state.
The push by two entities often viewed as adversarial is being pitched in Sacramento as a way to hedge the bet against illegally wagered, offshore Internet gambling operatives and a push in Congress to lift the federal ban on Internet gaming.
"It's a way to head off competition," Morongo spokesman Patrick Dorinson said.
The interest groups loosely formed under the limited liability peg, California Tribal Intrastate Internet Poker Consortium LLC, say draft language has been written — and could be plugged into a stripped-down bill as early as next week — to bridge the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 to allow "intrastate" Internet gambling.
"This would be a game for Californians run by Californians," Dorinson said. "In a state strapped for cash, this will definitely bring in revenue."
Despite the monetary lifeline, stiff opposition is brewing.
Allison Harvey, executive director of the The California Tribal Business Alliance, sees the legislation as a "Trojan horse" for the wholesale expansion of non-Indian, off-reservation gambling in California.
"We remain strongly opposed to this expansion," she said, as no one has had the time to think through the policy consequences of dropping this proposal into the complex web of interacting state and federal law on tribal government gaming.
It could also be the deal-breaker for the exclusive gaming rights that California voters granted Indian tribes, Harvey said.
Cheryl Schmit, of Stand Up California, said operation of an online poker site off Indian land also holds potential to be in violation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
It could open a Pandora's Box for card clubs down the road to expand into banking-type games such as Pai Gow without changing the California constitution, she said. It could also take business away from existing casinos.
|
 |
|
|
