Published on: January 2, 2025, 03:51h.
Last updated on: January 2, 2025, 03:51h.
A coalition of California tribal operators has filed a lawsuit accusing the cardroom industry of providing illegal gambling in violation of the state constitution and the California Penal Code.
The lawsuit, filed on January 1 in the California Superior Court, may be the first of several complaints against the cardrooms. The tribes have long asserted that some of the games offered by these establishments are illegal and violate tribal exclusivity on house-banked casino games, but they previously lacked the legal means to challenge them.
In general, state courts do not have jurisdiction over tribes, which are sovereign nations. Additionally, federal courts typically do not intervene in California’s internal gaming regulations.
California Games
Last year, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Tribal Nations Access to Justice Act, which allows tribes to seek limited declaratory relief in court. While they cannot seek monetary damages, they can request a ruling on the legality of the games.
The lawsuit is supported by seven of the state’s 63 tribal operators, including the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla, the Pechanga Band of Indians, the Kumeyaay Nation, and the San Manuel Nation.
The tribes are concerned about “California games,” which are variations of popular casino table games like blackjack and pai gow poker that attempt to circumvent the ban on house-banked games by collecting a rake from each hand. These games also allow players to participate in a rotating dealer position, similar to a regular poker cash game.
However, most of the game rules, either in writing or as interpreted by card rooms, do not require actual rotation of the bank — just the offering of it,” the lawsuit alleges. “Therefore, a single player may act as the banker continuously, as in Nevada and New Jersey style banked games, when no other player accepts the offer to be the banker.”
Don’t Bank on It
The cardrooms also employ state-licensed third parties to act as dealers because players may not always wish to be the dealer. The tribes argue that these companies, known as TPPPs, effectively serve as a “bank” when combined with the card rooms’ failure to rotate the bank among players.
“The California Constitution grants tribes the exclusive right to offer blackjack, baccarat, and other banked games in tribal casinos,” stated Adam Lauridsen, an attorney representing the tribes, in a statement to Casino.org on Thursday.
As part of exercising their rights, tribes have collectively contributed hundreds of millions to the California state budget through gaming-compact payments and provided crucial services to broad communities,” Lauridsen continued. “Cardrooms have blatantly disregarded this voter-approved framework and instead proceeded to offer illegal Vegas-style games.”
The California Gaming Association, which represents the cardrooms, has previously noted that many cardrooms would face closure without California games, potentially leading to the loss of thousands of jobs.