The California Gaming Association expressed strong disapproval on Tuesday regarding the newly established regulations by Attorney General Rob Bonta and the state’s Bureau of Gambling Control. The association claims these regulations could ban long-standing blackjack-style and player-dealer games, potentially jeopardizing around half of the cardroom jobs and revenues across the state.

As per the association’s statement, these regulations could lead to a more than 50% reduction in revenues for licensed cardrooms, driving immediate fiscal challenges for cities dependent on cardroom taxes. The association referenced the Bureau’s own economic report, predicting a loss of approximately half of all cardroom jobs, thereby impacting tens of thousands of working families and leading to budget deficits for municipalities that rely on gaming tax revenues for essential services like police, fire protection, parks, and more.

The Bureau moved forward with these regulations without sufficient legal justification or indication of public safety threats associated with these games, which have been legally played in cardrooms for many years and previously approved by former attorneys general. The association also claimed that regulators did not provide adequate notice of the changes or appropriately engage with the public as mandated by law.

“Attorney General Bonta and the Bureau have imposed drastic regulatory changes that will adversely affect thousands of working families and the numerous communities in California that rely heavily on cardroom taxes,” stated Kyle Kirkland, president of the California Gaming Association.

“According to the Bureau’s own basic economic evaluation, these unwarranted regulations will eliminate over half of cardroom jobs and force multiple communities to make cuts to their police, fire, parks, senior, and food programs as their long-standing tax base vanishes,” he elaborated.

Kirkland asserted that the gaming industry has highlighted “serious legal and economic issues” regarding the regulations. He noted that the attorney general has “failed to demonstrate any immediate public safety threat” and has “pushed these regulations without engaging in meaningful discussions or fulfilling legal disclosure requirements.”

“Due to the Bureau’s disregard for compliance with established laws, our industry plans to pursue legal action to protect our lawful, legitimate businesses and advocate for the livelihood of working families and communities that rely on us but have been marginalized by Attorney General Bonta,” he concluded.

Several cities in California, along with elected officials, employees, and various stakeholders, have cautioned state authorities about the looming economic and legal ramifications of these regulations, as stated by the association.