California apparently is on its way to become the first US state to legalize online poker, thanks to a new legislation by Sen. Rod Wright, the state’s foremost lawmakers who currently heads the Senate committee which oversees gambling.
Though the move to legalize online poker is clearly a debatable one, it will spell extra revenue, potentially in billions, for the beleaguered California state treasury.
As of now, California has a whopping $19.1 billion budget deficit through the end of 2011. Though the state’s budget is large, the addition of excess taxes and revenues from a new gambling site might help the state bring down the budget shortfall; with the legislation proposing that at least 20 percent of the revenue generated would go to the state. 

Noting that he is not looking to create an online poker monopoly, Wright said: “It is an asset that is underperforming and it belongs to the state. It should be nondiscriminatory in terms of the people who participate. It'll go to the people who want it and show up and bid.”

Likely to be in print on Tuesday, Wright’s bill see the state Department of Justice awarding five-year contracts to up to three California-based operators for running legal online poker websites. However, to avail the opportunity, the operators will have to meet certain specified legal, technical and financial conditions.