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By Brian Hews
LCCN Publisher | Follow X
February 9, 2026
Sacramento — California regulators have formally cleared the way for sweeping new gambling restrictions that will eliminate blackjack-style games and impose mandatory player-dealer rotation in cardrooms statewide, despite warnings that the rules will slash jobs, gut city revenues, and destabilize dozens of municipal budgets.
Late Friday, the Office of Administrative Law approved two sets of regulations issued by the California Department of Justice governing cardroom operations. The approval was issued without substantive comment and without requiring a revised rulemaking package or an additional public comment period. The regulations will take effect April 1, 2026, with cardrooms required to submit compliance plans to the Department of Justice by May 31.
The regulations, enforced through the Bureau of Gambling Control, prohibit long-approved blackjack-style games and require rotation of the player-dealer position, fundamentally altering how cardrooms operate. The targeted games have been legally offered for decades under rules approved by multiple prior attorneys general.
Hours after the approval became public, the California Gaming Association issued a sharp condemnation of the action, warning that the regulations will immediately eliminate more than half of all cardroom jobs and revenues across California. The association said the Bureau’s own economic analysis projects losses approaching 50 percent statewide, placing tens of thousands of working families at risk and forcing cities to slash police, fire, parks, senior, and food programs when cardroom tax revenue collapses.
The association accused Attorney General Rob Bonta and the Bureau of advancing the rules without identifying any public safety threat, legal necessity, or evidence of harm tied to the games being banned. Industry leaders also said DOJ failed to meaningfully engage with cities, workers, and other stakeholders, despite extensive warnings about the economic consequences.
Kyle Kirkland, president of the California Gaming Association, said the Bureau unilaterally implemented extreme regulatory changes that will devastate working families and dozens of communities that rely on cardroom taxes. He said DOJ ignored documented legal and economic concerns, refused to identify a single public safety risk, and advanced the regulations without good-faith discussion or lawful disclosure. Kirkland said the industry intends to pursue legal remedies to protect lawful businesses and the communities that depend on them.
According to the association and multiple cities, cardrooms provide critical general-fund revenue in municipalities such as Hawaiian Gardens, Commerce, and Bell Gardens, where casino taxes make up a substantial share of operating budgets. Local officials have warned that the regulations could trigger immediate layoffs, service reductions, and fiscal emergencies once the rules take effect.
DOJ disputes claims that the process lacked public input, noting that two public hearings were held in late May 2025 and that it received a combined 1,764 written public comments on the two regulatory packages. However, despite the volume of comments and widespread opposition, DOJ made no substantive changes to either regulation before submitting the final package to the Office of Administrative Law in December.
With OAL approval now final, opponents are preparing legal challenges aimed at blocking or delaying implementation before April. Cities and cardroom operators argue the regulations represent a major transfer of economic activity away from municipally regulated cardrooms, while exposing local governments to sudden and severe revenue losses.
Requests for comment from the Attorney General’s Office were not immediately returned.
Regulatory Timeline: DOJ Cardroom Rules
In early 2025, the California Department of Justice held a series of stakeholder meetings to discuss potential new regulations affecting cardroom games. In spring 2025, DOJ formally introduced two proposed rulemaking packages covering rotation of the player-dealer position and blackjack-style games. Public hearings were held on May 28 and May 29, 2025, during which DOJ accepted written and oral comments.
By summer 2025, DOJ had received 876 public comments on the player-dealer rotation proposal and 888 comments on the blackjack-style game proposal, for a combined total of 1,764 comments. After reviewing the submissions, DOJ declined to make any substantive changes to the proposed regulations.
On December 23, 2025, DOJ submitted the final rulemaking packages and written responses to all public comments to the Office of Administrative Law for review. On February 6, 2026, the Office of Administrative Law approved both regulations without substantive comment and without requiring an additional public comment period or resubmission.
The regulations are scheduled to take effect April 1, 2026. Cardrooms must submit compliance plans to DOJ by May 31, 2026.
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