The state of California is facing one of the largest budgetary crises in its history. As the governor of California, Jerry Brown is considering all possible solutions.
A number of casino operators have told Brown that legalizing online poker could help. However, Brown is not convinced. He feels that that while legalizing online poker could bring some revenue to the state, it probably won’t be enough to help the state overcome its budget deficit of over $9 billion.
Brown didn’t comment on his position on legalizing online poker. However, he told reporters from the Los Angeles Times that the state needs to consider other options in order to get the budget under control.
Other politicians are more optimistic. Darrell Steinberg, President of the Senate, is seriously considering legalizing online poker. Steinberg told reporters that he doesn’t particularly like the idea of legalizing poker, but feels it is an option that needs to be seriously considered.
Sen. Lou Correa also argues that online poker would be beneficial to the economy. In fact, Correa also insists that regulation would bring the state more than $250 million in revenue in the first year, because casino operators would have to pay license application fees.
Although Jerry Brown questions the potential benefits of legalizing online poker, he is still considering it as an option. Brown hopes to finance new conservation programs for the state. Unless it finds a new source of revenue, the state will be forced to borrow more than $11 billion before the state’s election in November. While many California citizens support many of the programs in Brown’s budget, they may not like the idea that the state would have to borrow so much money.
Even if Brown doesn’t like the idea of legalizing online poker, he may change his mind as he looks for new ways to fix the state’s budget problems. Steinberg and other politicians may pressure Brown to consider online gambling as a possible solution to the state’s budgetary problems.
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