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Tribal casinos are a powerful growth driver in California, generating over $7.8 billion for the economy and providing about 63,000 jobs for Californians. At the start of the year, casino-owning Native American tribes further demonstrated their power by suing private card rooms, their biggest rivals in California’s steadily growing gaming sector.
The multi-million dollar lawsuit claims that Native American tribes’ competitors are violating their casinos’ exclusive rights to gaming operations in California by illegally offering card games like blackjack, baccarat, and pai gow poker. The disputed table games allegedly cut into the tribal casinos’ revenues, which are reinvested into development projects for historically disenfranchised tribal communities.
Meanwhile, the state’s card room industry maintains that its operations fully comply with gaming regulations. Despite these claims, tribal casinos continue in their efforts to shut down illegal revenue from private card rooms, potentially shaping the regulatory landscape for California’s multi-billion-dollar gaming industry.
The costly legal battle between California’s tribal casinos and card rooms comes after State Senator Josh Newman signed Senate Bill 549 in September 2024. Also known as the Tribal Declaratory Relief Act of 2023, Sen. Newman’s bill gives sovereign tribal governments the legal standing to sue the state’s card rooms through a new Private Attorney General Act.
Prior to the bill, card rooms in California’s gaming venues legally operated games approved by the Attorney General, such as traditional poker variants and casino table games. However, SB 549 allows these state-regulated games to be challenged in court, potentially driving card rooms out of business.
The decision on whether or not card rooms can continue to offer table games has far-reaching implications. For instance, the state could lose $500 million in tax revenues, $5.6 billion in economic output, and the 32,000 jobs generated by card rooms if the litigation were to push through. Opposing interests in California’s gaming sector may also affect the internet gaming (iGaming) segment, whose legalization remains underway despite industries like online poker significantly contributing to statewide tax revenues.
Although the costly legal battle aims to shut down card rooms in California, their gaming operations may already be disrupted while litigation is pending. Such developments could lead to residents redirecting their activities to alternatives such as online poker in California, which is not yet legalized but offers thousands of players workarounds that maintain gaming safety and reliability. For instance, offshore poker site Americas Cardroom may lack regulatory oversight from the state, but it has strong security features and consumer protection guarantees. The reputable platform also offers safe deposits and withdrawals by supporting diverse banking methods like cryptocurrencies for its tournaments and flagship events.
In addition to offering offshore operations in lieu of private card rooms, California’s iGaming sector continues to push for its statewide legalization through extensive lobbying. Key sports gaming players, namely DraftKings and FanDuel, are courting tribal leaders in an attempt to return to the ballot and legalize online sports betting in California.
These companies initially found themselves at odds with casino-owning tribes when Prop 27, which would have legalized sports betting, was rejected in 2022. However, they continue to negotiate with tribal leaders to support their initiative by acknowledging the tribes’ exclusive rights to California’s gaming sector and aligning with them in the ongoing fight against illegal operations and revenues.
An official agreement between the two parties has yet to be reached, but iGaming companies continue to express hope of gaining the approval of gaming tribes. The tribes’ decision could dictate their long-term growth and sustainability in California, entailing the continuous prioritization of iGaming’s tribal partnerships and relationships.
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