Eric Hollreiser: It's Just a Question of When, Not If
Published on 2015-09-20 22:04:00
While the California legislature session closed this year without having moved on legalized and regulated online poker in the state, Amaya, Inc. remains extremely optimistic that online poker is, in fact, coming to the state of California. Amaya, Inc., which owns the Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker and European Poker Tour brands, has been lobbying hard for the licensing and regulation of online poker in California. California, with its population of nearly 40 million people, is considered one of the most potentially lucrative states for regulated online poker. Some estimates have the state potentially generating $300-$400 million in online poker revenues every year.
As with practically everything else, there are certain interests that want to keep online poker out of the state of California. In addition, there are also certain interests who want online poker but don't want Amaya, Inc. to be able to operate in the state. Pokerstars, after all, is the world's largest online poker site, and which company would really want to compete with them?
Amaya, Inc. has been sinking their resources into lobbying for online poker legalization in California. Daniel Negreanu, who is the face of Pokerstars, has been sent to California to help push for online poker legalization in the state. While the company has not been successful as of yet, Amaya, Inc. says that they have seen 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."
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Amaya, Inc., despite being the world's largest online poker operation, still hasn't been able to work their way into any of the three states that are currently offering licensed and regulated online poker in the United States. New Jersey seems to hold the most promise for the company, as they are apparently hoping to gain approval to operate in the state by the end of 2015.
Source: Amaya Inc Says Access to California Online Poker Market 'a Question of When, Not If'
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Filed Under: Poker Legislation
