The online gambling world has lost an ally as California State Senator, Roderick Wright, resigned from his position after being found guilty of felony perjury and voting fraud.
Californian online gambling allies are growing thinner by the week.
State Senator, Lou Correa terms out in December 2014, after serving nearly 14 years in the California Senate and Senator Roderick Wright, will be leaving even sooner after being found guilty of felony perjury and voter fraud.
Both Correa and Wright were big supporters of iGaming in California and were the authors of several online poker and online sports betting bills. A judge sentenced Wright to 90 days in jail after telling porky pies about living in his senate district when he first ran for office six years ago.
“It’s painful,” Wright told the LA Times Political, “At the end of the day you want to consider what’s the best thing for the house and that was the best thing for the house.”
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg accepted Wright’s resignation. The pair worked together on SB 1463 Internet Gambling Bill in June 2012. The resignation date is Monday Sept. 22, and he will start his term of porridge on Oct 31.
Financial Analysts, Morgan Stanley, recently predicted that an online poker only Californian bill will eventually be passed in 2015, with implementation sometime in 2016. They foresee the business making $261m in its first year, rising to $610 million by 2020.
Two recent Californian online gambling bills hit the bottom of the ocean after Sen. Correa, and Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer, withdrew their plans after stating there wasn’t sufficient time for the 107 federally recognized tribal nations, racetracks, and interested casino partners to work out a deal.
California’s population is nearly four times that of New Jersey and it’s thought to be the only state that could create enough poker liquidity to profit without the need for intrastate compacts.
Sen. Wright was behind the SB 1390 sports betting bill of 2012, SB 190 in 2013, and online poker bills SB 1463 (2012) and SB 51 (2012). When referring to online gambling The LA Times once quoted Wright as saying his state spends, “multiple billions of dollars going to places where this is legal, who why not bring it home?”
The 62-year-old senator was also banned for holding future public office, given three years’ probation and 1,500 hours of community service. He is the first state legislator to resign, after being found guilty of criminal wrongdoings, in the past two decades.
