Dave Palermo: Tribes in California assert right to Internet poker

A coalition of seven politically influential American Indian tribes working on internet poker legislation in California will not cede its opposition to bill language that would extend website licenses to the racing industry.

“The only entities that can play poker in California are Indian tribes and card clubs, period,” Chairman Mark Macarro of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians told attendees of a GiGse 2015 panel Tuesday in San Francisco.

“You go beyond that and that is expanding gaming in California,” said Macarro, unofficial spokesman for a coalition of seven tribes who oppose licensing the racing industry, claiming it would violate public policy for limited gambling in the state.

Some members of the coalition also fear licensing tracks could threaten the constitutional guarantee tribes have to operate casino-style gambling, which in many cases funds their governments.

“The future of our people, the future of our tribes, depend on that policy, that law,” Macarro said.