PVA: Cali e-poker bill has Senator backing; NY, NJ, PA next

POKER VOTERS OF AMERICA (PVA) has said it has an author for its online poker bill in the California Senate and has pledged to target the cash-strapped governments of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania if the state legalises the online game.

Speaking to EGRmagazine.com, Melanie Brenner (pictured), president of the group also driving efforts to authorise online poker in Florida, said: “In California, we have the bill and we will pass it. We already have legislators drafting language and a Senator who is going to author the bill,” referring to the constitutional requirements necessary to have a bill debated by the state’s parliament.

Brenner told eGaming Review that the PVA was also now looking to target other US states with populations large enough to support intrastate online poker systems.

“In addition to California and Florida, we want to move into New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania as soon as possible, but will first need to find the funding to hire the lobbyists and set up the teams there,” she said.

However Brenner said that the state budget crisis providing momentum to the group’s intrastate legalisation push would not last indefinitely, as state revenues are likely to be boosted by other means when the economy recovers.

“A lot of these states have constitutional requirements that they need to have a balanced budget. That makes it more palatable for elected officials to support our initiatives when we are saying, ‘We can bring real revenue at a time when you really need this,'” she said. “But as the economy improves, that’s not going be as strong an argument. We have a two, maybe three-year window to do this on the intrastate basis.”

Brenner promised that the PVA would reveal the Senator backing the bill by early next year.