Online poker group chooses service
The Desert Sun
Debra Gruszecki
Tuesday, June 21st, 2011While online gambling is still illegal in California, the California Online Poker Association — a coalition backed by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians — on Monday said it has selected a company to provide online poker services.
In addition to choosing the publicly traded firm Sciplay, COPA said it signed a software licensing pact with Playtech for online poker technology and software.
Terms of the agreement, forged despite no state law existing to legalize online gambling in California, were not immediately disclosed.
The move follows a wave of federal shutdowns of illegal Internet poker operations. Robert Martin, Morongo chairman and a member of COPA's board of managers, said the timing couldn't be better because the federal indictments removed the largest offshore Internet poker operators from the market.
That showed the urgency for regulated online poker in California, he said in a statement. Sciplay is a joint venture between the publicly traded firms Scientific Games Corp. and Playtech Limited.
Scientific Games, a venture founded 40 years ago, has contracts to operate 11 lottery systems in the United States, as well as abroad. Trading under the ticker SGMS, it provides technical support to video lottery systems in Delaware, South Dakota, New Mexico, Maine, West Virginia and Australia.
Founded in 1999, Playtech designs and develops online gaming software and technology for more than 80 operators around the globe. Its clients include ipoker.com, and Bet365 in the United Kingdom, as well as operators in Europe.
Martin revealed early in the year that COPA, the coalition of 29 tribes and 31 card rooms, had been working on the agreements for several months.
Now that the operating agreements are in place, Martin said COPA is getting in position to launch live Internet poker as soon as the state legalizes it.
Two bills proposed most recently to California lawmakers, though, have been parked.
A bill from state Sen. Lou Correa in December authorizes intrastate poker on a set number of platforms. Another bill, from state Sen. Rod Wright, proposes a more broadbased virtual betting platform and carries an urgency clause.
While the controversial legislation appears to be in a holding pattern, Sciplay and Playtech said their sites will offer COPA Internet poker in a free, “play for fun” mode in the months to come.
Debra Gruszecki covers tourism, CVEP and Indian gaming for The Desert Sun. She can be reached at Debra.Gruszecki@thedesertsun.com or (760) 778-4643
