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By Brian Hews
Publisher | Follow X
June 30, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO — A San Francisco Superior Court judge has invalidated controversial gambling regulations adopted by California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s Bureau of Gambling Control, ruling the agency exceeded its legal authority in attempting to restrict certain card games offered at licensed cardrooms throughout the state.
In a decision issued Monday, Judge Richard Darwin concluded the Bureau lacked the authority to impose statewide restrictions on table games that have been offered by California cardrooms for decades. The ruling prevents the regulations from taking effect and preserves the current operation of licensed cardrooms while any appeals are considered.
The regulations would have significantly limited or prohibited several popular card games played at licensed cardrooms across California. Cardroom operators argued the changes would have cut revenues dramatically, forcing some businesses to reduce operations or close entirely while threatening thousands of jobs.
The lawsuit was brought by the California Gaming Association, which contended the Bureau had attempted to rewrite state gaming policy through regulation rather than legislation. The court agreed, finding the Bureau’s role is to enforce California’s gambling laws, not create new statewide restrictions beyond those authorized by the Legislature.
“This case is about whether the Attorney General and his regulators can bypass the Legislature and unilaterally rewrite decades of established law,” California Gaming Association President Kyle Kirkland said following the ruling. “The Court delivered a clear answer: they cannot.”
The association argued the regulations would have had broad economic consequences for cities that depend on cardroom tax revenue to help fund public safety, parks, libraries, youth programs and other municipal services.
Several California cities, including Commerce, Hawaiian Gardens, Bell Gardens, Gardena and others, receive substantial revenue from licensed cardrooms operating within their jurisdictions.
Supporters of the regulations, including several California gaming tribes, have argued tighter restrictions are necessary to ensure cardrooms comply with state gambling laws governing banked games and to preserve the exclusive gaming rights granted to tribes under California law.
The Bureau of Gambling Control had maintained the regulations were intended to clarify existing law and strengthen oversight of licensed gambling establishments.
Judge Darwin’s ruling concludes that such policy decisions must come from the Legislature rather than through administrative rulemaking by the Bureau.
The California Department of Justice has not yet announced whether it will appeal the decision. An appeal could delay the final resolution of the dispute, which has become one of the state’s most closely watched legal battles involving California’s gaming industry.
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