After being splintered over the issue of regulated online poker in the state of California, one of the leaders of the most powerful Indian tribes says it is time that tribes “work together” to hammer out a compromise.

At the Western Indian Gaming Conference in California, Robert Martin (pictured), Chairman of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, indicated that compromise among the 13 tribes in the Golden State was critical to move forward regulation of online poker. In an interview with the Press Enterprise, Martin said, “There has to be a compromise or it won’t get done. At the end of the day, we all want what is best for the tribes.”

Martin’s comments come on the heels of last week’s announcement that three tribes and their chairmen – Bo Mazzetti of the Rincon Band of Luisefio Indians, Gene Whitehouse of the United Auburn Indian Community, and Robert Smith of the Pala Band of Mission Indians – were willing to make some compromises toward moving forward online poker regulation.

In a letter to the two California representatives that have legislation pending in the General Assembly on the subject, Reggie Jones-Sawyer and Mike Gatto, the three men looked at each bill and indicated where there could be room for compromise.

AB 167, with its “bad actor” clause looking more at individuals than companies, was the preferred approach for the trio of leaders. “Under this approach, those persons with control over a licensed operator, service provider, or marketing affiliate could not include any person who has personally participated in unauthorized gaming,” the letter from the three tribes stated. This would remove the roadblock that has emerged in the potential licensing of PokerStars.

“This approach strikes a balance between the state’s need to ensure that persons who willfully [defy/defied] gaming laws not be permitted to jeopardize the integrity of internet poker in California while recognizing that control of an entity may change over time that resolves regulatory concerns,” the letter continued.

As to any of the assets that were either used or created during an undesignated period of “unlawful” internet gaming, the three tribal leaders admitted they were still in disagreement on that area, but were willing to continue to discuss the issue.

Another point of compromise from the three tribes was that horse racing tracks would be included in the potential California online poker market. “We support the approach of AB 167 in permitting horse racing associations to be eligible for internet poker operator licenses on the same terms as eligible tribes or card rooms,” the three chairman stated.

When it actually comes to licensing in the state, the three leaders stated that they preferred AB 9’s lengthier licensing phase. Under AB 9, licenses would be for a ten-year period rather than AB 167’s four-year time span.

Whether the movement by the three tribes indicates that there is some discussion going on, it isn’t known if this will bring about a bill that can pass through the California General Assembly. What is significant is that there seems to be some potential roadblocks being removed from the equation in an attempt to bring California online as the fourth regulated online poker state in the US.

Visit PocketFives’ California poker community for the latest discussion from California players.