Morongos Want
Online Poker
February
10, 2010
It is no secret that the
state of California has been considering making online gambling legal
within their borders. They are aware that the passage of the Unlawful
Internet Gambling Enforcement Act or UIGEA has made it illegal to offer
online gambling but only if you offer it outside of state lines. As the
UIGEA allows it as long as you do it intrastate instead of interstate –
you are not breaking the rules.
As soon as this was realized there were those within the state that
started pushing for online gambling. One of the biggest proponents was
the Morongo Indian Tribe. The Morongo Band of Mission Indians formed a
group that went by the name of the California Tribal Intrastate Internet
Poker Consortium and have been working with the Commerce Casino and the
Bicycle Club to get them to agree on an exclusive deal for the companies
to offer online poker.
For a little while it seemed as though it has lost its push, but now you
see that there are plenty of places looking to offer it again – and the
push is back on to make it legal. The original deal came very close to
getting pushed, but the legislators felt that they were moving too fast
on trying to get it accomplished. They felt that the bill needed more
work and that if they wanted online gambling they were going to have to
be a little more patient and bring them something better.
The tribe says that they are more determined than ever to see the deal
pass through and for online gambling in the form of poker to be legal.
They said that they have been working with other tribes across the state
and that they all want to see the bill legalized as well.
