Private Table to Launch Real Money Poker in California
Real money online poker in the state of California may not have been given the green light by ‘the powers that be’ but it looks like it will happen anyway. It’s not as if California online poker players are not already playing their favorite game online, as of course they are hitting the felt daily at poker rooms such as Bovada Poker, however it’s looking likely that they’re being given a new option in the shape of Private Table.
Private Table is a little different to the offshore rooms that are currently available to Californian players as it is owned and operated by the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel and will be restricted to California residents aged 18 or over. The site is offering free to play poker at present however the switch to real money is expected to take place between the 26th and 28th of August with the legality of that switch still in some doubt.
The Santa Ysabel tribe state that there is no law against them offering online poker within state borders, and although they still wish to work with other tribes and stakeholders regarding a wider solution, in the meantime they will be launching real money poker on Private Table. There are a few concerns regarding the payment processing side of the business with a company known as Finpay taking care of deposits, however that company has no links to anyone outside of Private Table. The CEO of that company was head of a brick and mortar payments company, Money Centers of America, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, owing $10.4 million to the Ho-Chunk Nation. It’s also worth noting that the casino owned by the Santa Ysabel tribe in San Diego, closed down this February, after filing for bankruptcy in 2012 with debts of over $50 million. Make of that what you will but it’s looking likely that real money online poker will be taking a turn for the, shall we say....interesting this fall in the state of California.
