There are now two different online poker bills in the California Senate, as the state almost seems to be racing against New Jersey to become the first in the U.S. to regulate the activity. The new bill was introduced by Senator Rod Wright, who introduced a different version of the bill in 2009.

Back then, Senator Wright introduced SB 1485, which was intended to regulate online poker within the state of California. After facing some difficulty, Wright canceled the scheduled hearing on the bill in June of this year. Since then, Wright has revised the bill and has now introduced a modified version to the current state Senate, with this bill called the Internet Gambling Consumer Protection and Public-Private Partnership Act of 2011 (SB 45).

The new version of the bill would allow the California Gambling Control Commission to grant licenses to three different operators within the state. Those licensed operators could then provide online poker services to residents of California. The licenses could last up to 20 years.

The first online poker bill in the state Senate, which is still on the table, was introduced by Senator Lou Correa on December 6. That bill, SB 40, would allow the California Gambling Control Commission to grant online poker licenses to the California Online Poker Association (COPA). Any California tribes that offer gambling are eligible to join COPA and the bill would not give COPA an exclusive right to offer online poker, protecting potential future competition from facing a state monopoly.

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians support Correa’s online poker bill and oppose Harry Reid’s online poker legislation in the U.S. Senate, feeling that his bill would hurt California’s industry.

As a jab to Congress, the language of SB 40 says that the UIGEA “has not eliminated illegal, unregulated Internet gambling, nor has it provided any increased protection for participants from game operators and others who would impair the integrity of online gambling activity.” In short, the bill says that the federal government failed to prevent illegal gambling or protect gamblers from dangerous websites, so California has to do it on their own.

Tags: California casinos, California online gambling, U.S. online gambling, UIGEA