Who would have thought that movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was probably best known for his roles in Terminator before he moved into politics, would one day have become the Governor of California and had the casting vote on important issues such as this online bingo bill that is currently trying to be pushed through their state. It has been said that the California charity bingo association, think that this bill will be devastating for local charities, as hundreds of them would cease to exist if the bingo bill was to make it through and they have called on Schwarzenegger to veto it.

This new (SB 1369) online bingo bill is an amended bill that will shortly be on California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk and according to the California charity bingo association they believe that it will give way for tribal casinos to expand their gambling interest onto the internet, whilst leaving the smaller charities out in the dark, as this new bill outlaws the electronic charity bingo machines that loads of their small charities use to help them to raise funds.

If the online bingo bill is passed in it will bring with it something that is called a (remote caller bingo) and this technology will link multiple bingo games throughout California at all different locations in their state. As we know the internet is a very powerful tool and networked online bingo games are not a new thing as they have been taking place throughout the UK for some years now and this is basically what this bill will allow the tribal casino to do if it gets passed, set up networked online bingo games, as there is apparently a small clause relating to this bill that if this gambling technology is opened up in the state of California then casino operators under the same “Indian gaming compact” also have the right to use the internet to further their gaming interests.

According to I. Nelson Rose, a leading authority on gaming law, SB 1369 could "lead to the greatest expansion of legal gambling in history." If this bingo bill is passed, California will become the first state in America to allow fully legalized online bingo gaming.

The tribal business alliance however has retaliated against the California charity bingo association, saying that they are raising phoney issues in direct attachment to a slot machine manufacturer. This online bingo bill saga is set to continue over the coming weeks and it will be interesting to see just what unfolds.