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On-line poker news from the Sacramento Bee:

Viewpoints: Regulating Internet poker adds revenue, protection
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By Ron Cottingham
Special to The Bee
By Ron Cottingham
Last modified: 2012-04-12T14:01:30Z
Published: Thursday, Apr. 12, 2012 - 12:00 am | Page 13A
Last Modified: Thursday, Apr. 12, 2012 - 7:01 am
Copyright 2012 . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Golden State is the nation's largest online poker market, with more than 2 million Californians wagering $13 billion a year at offshore poker websites. By passing legislation establishing state-authorized online poker, we could not only be generating billions in new state revenue, but just as important, we would be protecting Californians who currently play online poker against fraud and theft that are rampant among offshore gambling websites operating illegally within our borders without any regulation or repercussions.
The lack of consumer protections has resulted in huge losses for players. In January, players sued the Ultimate Bet website in U.S. District Court in California over a $20 million online cheating scheme that targeted high-stakes poker players. This lawsuit follows accusations from federal prosecutors that Full Tilt Poker built a global Ponzi scheme that bilked online players out of at least $390 million.
Poker players at California's brick and mortar card clubs and federally recognized tribal casinos are protected from such losses by long-established and proven government regulatory procedures and oversight, which are upheld by our state's gaming partners – California tribes and card rooms.
Those same consumer protections and state oversight should be extended to California's online poker players to ensure that the state's poker industry is free from criminal elements and false fronts. Extending much of the state's existing poker regulations to Internet poker will bring the same consumer safeguards, player security and operator integrity that Californians enjoy today at poker tables in brick and mortar facilities.
Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Sen. Rod Wright, D-Inglewood, recently took action to protect online players by introducing Senate Bill 1463, which seeks to authorize and regulate Internet poker in California. This bill follows three years of discussions and state hearings. We applaud Steinberg and Wright for their leadership in introducing this legislation. However, this bill is not perfect, and can go farther toward protecting consumers, providing the law enforcement community with oversight and securing revenues sooner rather than later.
As this bill moves forward, we hope additional safeguards will be included in the legislation that will strengthen player protections and solidify the economic benefits by preventing unsuitable gaming interests and operators from sidestepping our gaming regulations and policies. Such adjustments would guarantee California consumers and the law enforcement community the safest, most secure, and most reliable online poker environment possible. The law enforcement community must be assured that California's long-standing policies and safeguards on gaming are extended to the Internet to ensure the game's integrity.
Passing online poker legislation will do more than protect players; it will also generate much-needed state revenues to prevent cutbacks to public safety, education and other services. An analysis by Tim Gage, California's former director of finance, estimated that authorizing online poker would create more than $1.4 billion in new revenue for California over the next decade, another $248 million in economic activity and 1,300 new California jobs. This revenue will help put more police and firefighters in our communities and help reverse cutbacks that public safety agencies and schools have suffered across the state.
By drafting regulations that mirror California's existing gaming regulations, lawmakers can have online poker up and running by 2013 – a year earlier than SB 1463 envisions. The sooner regulations are in place, the sooner we can start protecting players and generating revenue.
It's time to act to protect California consumers and seize the opportunity that will generate jobs and revenue for our state.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/12/4407483/regulating-internet-poker-adds.html#storylink=cpy