Although Barney Frank may be mustering support for online casinos in the Congress, online casinos may be making new enemies in other parts of the country.  For a long time the leading voices in opposition of online casinos and Internet gambling were Conservatives and the National Football League, but after a tribe’s bold move to bring online poker to California, Indian tribes may be the latest group to actively oppose legalized online casinos.

The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians in Temecula operates one of the largest and wealthiest Indian gaming venues in California.  According to tribal chairman Mark Macarro, the tribe is fully against regulated online poker being offered to California gamblers.

This objection from the Pechanga band comes on the heels of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians attempting to offer regulated online poker as early as next year.  The tribe received a lot of resistance to its online poker ambitions, even from fellow Indian tribes.  One of the major problems brought up by other California tribes is the partnership that the Morongo Band had formulated with the card clubs of California.  Other tribes that offer gambling fear that by bringing in these outside card clubs, the Morongo mission could cause tribes to lose their exclusive right to offer gambling in the state California.

Although the Native American fight against online casinos is somewhat new, it is being waged for old reasons.  Just like brick and mortar casinos elsewhere, the tribes in California are concerned about suddenly having to compete with international companies hosting online gaming.