The General Assembly in the state of California has lost one of its key advocates of online poker regulation. Last week, State Senator Rod Wright (pictured) was found guilty of eight counts of perjury and voter fraud in a Los Angeles courtroom and, with that conviction, has seen much of his power evaporate in Sacramento.

Although he could face up to eight years in prison for the violations and be banned from holding another elected position when he is sentenced on March 12, Wright was immediately stripped of his chairmanship of the Senate Governmental Organization Committee. That committee is responsible for all of the gaming bills that would go to the California General Assembly, many of which Wright was an author or sponsor of. The President Pro Tem of the California Senate, Darrell Steinberg, stated that Wright’s removal was done at his request so that he can focus on the appeal of his conviction.

Wright has long been at the forefront of online poker regulation for the state of California, the largest state by population in the US. Since 2010, he has attempted to push legislation through the halls in Sacramento, but has been unable to bring together the differing factions. The powerful Indian casinos, California card rooms, and horse racing facilities have never been able to coalesce around any of Wright’s legislation or that of a colleague, State Senator Lou Correa.

With Wright now dealing with his legal issues and no longer the chair of his powerful committee, many believe that the potential for legislation to be enacted in 2014 is bleak.

Chief Executive Officer of CardsChat, Nicholas Kisberg, reflected on that potential in an interview with the Los Angeles Times last week. Regarding Wright’s removal from his chairmanship, Kisberg stated that “it will cause delays” for any current or new legislation to be introduced to the General Assembly. As to Wright particularly, Kisberg lauded him as “a man of vision… willing to take the poker bull by the horns and stand behind legislation. His influence will be sorely missed. This could cause catastrophic delays for the industry.”

In California, prominent figures believe that there will be no movement in the state regarding online poker regulation because of the upcoming 2014 elections and infighting among its factions. One of the preeminent authorities on gaming law, Professor I. Nelson Rose (pictured) of the Whittier Law School, commented on Fox Business in early January that it would be 2015 “at the earliest” that any legislation would pass through the California General Assembly.

“The legislature and the governor are trying to bring in online gaming to balance the budget,” Rose said in the Fox Business interview. “The [tribal casinos]are in favor of it as long as they are the ones to do it” instead of the card rooms and racetracks, Rose noted. He also brought up one factor in the Indian casinos’ objection to any California legislation. When asked about the potential impact for the California Indian casinos, Rose said, “The industry is so new we don’t know what impact it will have. Geographically, the Indian casinos are in poor locations. Are you going to drive and play live when you could stay at home and do the same thing?“

View the latest news and discussion from California players in PocketFives’ California poker community.

Want the latest poker headlines and interviews? Follow PocketFives on Twitterand Like PocketFives on Facebook. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed.