Tribal casinos sue California cardrooms

More than 70 California cardrooms, including Lake Elsinore Casino Cardroom, were sued in Sacramento Superior Court by seven casino tribes, including the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. The cardrooms are allegedly providing banked games in contravention of state law and tribal gaming rights, according to the lawsuit, which was brought under Senate Bill 549 (SB 549).

Gambling activities known as "banked games" involve the house or a character posing as the house as the bank. In contrast to "player-banked" games such as poker, in which players wager against one another and the house collects a charge, this means the house covers all bets and distributes wins. Baccarat and blackjack are typical examples. Because tribal casinos frequently hold the sole authority to offer these games through state-tribal gaming compacts, banked games are normally illegal in non-tribal cardrooms in California.

According to the gaming tribes, cardrooms are violating these prohibitions by running banked games, which is against California law and tribal gaming rights. Nonetheless, cardrooms insist that they are providing legal, state-regulated games that have undergone California Department of Justice (DOJ) examination and approval.

In response, California Gaming Association President Kyle Kirkland said that they are certain that, as they have for many years, California cardrooms are conducting table games in complete accordance with the law. He went on to point out that tens of thousands of well-paying jobs, hundreds of millions in taxes, community support, state licenses, stringent regulatory control, and legal games that have been examined and certified by the California Department of Justice are all provided by cardrooms. He opined, “This attempt by tribal casinos to shut down lawful competition by tax-paying California businesses will fail.”

Operating in Lake Elsinore since the 1960s, Lake Elsinore Casino Cardroom is one of the named defendants. It has more than 260 employees and purportedly provides more than $7 million to community services each year.

The cardroom industry in California has been around for more than 150 years and is a highly regulated industry. Operating under municipal regulations and state statutes, cardrooms create more than 20,000 jobs, more than $5.6 billion in economic activity, and more than $500 million in state and local taxes each year, all of which go toward funding public services.

Ted Kingston, the cardroom’s owner, said, “It is disappointing that the tribes have targeted the Lake Elsinore cardroom in this lawsuit. This is a direct attack on our community, our employees, and our long-standing operations, and we will vigorously defend Lake Elsinore Casino’s ability to continue to provide these popular, state-approved games.”

Tribal casino owners now have the legal right to sue state-licensed cardrooms for any violations of state law under SB 549, which entered into effect on January 1. The law primarily targets established cardroom businesses that provide DOJ-approved variations of well-known table games. While cardrooms see the bill as an attempt to monopolize gaming in California and eradicate competition, tribal advocates contend that it safeguards their unique gaming rights.

According to the lawsuit, more than 70 cardrooms are illegally providing banked games, and more cases could be brought under SB 549 before the deadline of April 1, 2025. Both parties are getting ready for a protracted court battle that might change California's gambling environment.

Source:

“Tribal Casinos file suit against California cardrooms, including Lake Elsinore” , myvalleynews.com, January 9, 2025.