Legalizing Online Poker in California — A Bad Bet or Not?

California, as we all know, is one of the states hit hardest by the recession, that the state is now having problems looking for a new source of income to augment its loss.  One potential source of new revenue can come in the form of online poker, but the question is, is it going to be a good bet?  Or a bad bet?

Lobbying for and Supporting the Legalization of Online Poker

The State of California has made changes in its gambling plans and is now really promoting its state lottery as well as the growing Indian casinos that proliferate in the area, but it seems that its efforts are not enough to give the state its fiscal fix.  Furthermore, both the state lottery and the casinos have failed to deliver their promise.

Right now, a partnership is being created between one of the State's wealthiest gambling tribes and one of the State's largest card room owners to lobby for the legalization of online poker in California.  Although there are no concrete details yet about their proposal, an outline of the plan has already been made and is now circulating among the organizations of card room operators to push for the legalization of online poker, with them being the major operator of the online gambling venture.  Of course, it has been talked about that the State of California is going to receive its fair share of the revenues earned from the online poker enterprise, but how much has not yet been discussed.  If this pushed through, California might just find its new source of income.

A Bad Bet or a Good Bet?

There might be a law that prohibits the transferring of funds from the United States to online poker accounts through the use of credit cards as well as through the use of checks or bank fund transfers, but it cannot be denied that this law has been unsuccessful, especially since there is now a proliferation of offshore Internet gambling sites that rake in billions of dollars yearly from players situated in the United States.  But with the legalization of online poker in the United States, particularly in California, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.  For one, online poker players are going to be better protected by the laws and rules of the State, and two, the State is going to benefit from the revenues taken from online poker sites, and this will definitely provide the needed income to supplement the State's decreasing revenues brought about by the recession.

There is one problem though.

It is a sad fact that gambling can be very addictive, and with the legalization of online poker, it is going to be tantamount to encouraging gambling addiction.

So the question remains, is legalizing online poker going to be a good bet or a bad bet?

TagsCalifornia, gambling, online poker, online poker in California, poker, poker players

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