Amaya Gaming’s path to launching PokerStars in California became slightly less obstructed this week after a prominent tribe appeared to back away from its previous antagonism toward so-called ‘bad actors.’

As recently as last month, a seven-tribe coalition led by the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians wrote to California Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer expressing opposition to his “fatally flawed” AB 167 online poker legislation. At the heart of the coalition’s ire is the bill’s lack of a prohibition on “unscrupulous entities and brands” – aka PokerStars and any other sites that took wagers from state residents post-UIGEA – playing any role in the state’s regulated online poker market.

On Saturday, longtime tribal gaming reporter Dave Palermo posted a piece to OnlinePokerReport detailing an apparent about face by the Pechangas on the bad actors issue following discussions at Tuesday’s National Indian Gaming Association convention in San Diego.

Palermo quoted a tribal official saying the issues surrounding bad actors and their ‘tainted assets’ – software, databases, brands, etc. – could be worked out. The tribes believe a united front on the poker issue would offer sufficient muscle to defeat their common enemy – the state’s racetracks.