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This week, the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Gambling Control (DOJ) announced that the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) has approved two new sets of regulations governing cardrooms: one categorically prohibits blackjack-style games, and the other introduces harsh restrictions on betting practices in player-dealer games (which are the core of cardrooms’ business). In response, cardrooms plan to pursue legal action against the DOJ, citing serious concerns with both the process and the substance of the regulations.
Specifically, Attorney General Bonta and the DOJ disregarded widespread opposition to these damaging and unnecessary regulatory changes, ignoring 1,764 public comments submitted on the proposed rules and making no substantive changes before finalizing them. Moreover, the DOJ failed to follow the proper regulatory process, as the final regulations were not publicly posted prior to submission to the OAL. Cardrooms warn that the resulting regulations would devastate California’s cardroom communities, threatening jobs, reducing general fund revenues, and potentially forcing small businesses across the state to shut down.
The Attorney General's failure to notify and engage with the public about the finalized rules, as required by law, has left affected cardrooms and communities with very little time to respond. The cardroom industry only learned that the regulations were moving forward last week, after a cardroom attorney happened across a line item on the OAL website that stated the cardroom regulations were submitted to OAL (the final step in approval) on December 23. By failing to inform the public the final regulations had been submitted to OAL.
Attorney General Rob Bonta completely side-stepped California law - exactly what he is supposed to be enforcing.
These regulations will take effect on April 1, 2026, but as specified in the regulations, the deadline for cardrooms to submit to DOJ plans for compliance with the regulations is just 60 days later, on May 31, 2026.
What can you do?
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Call your legislator's office and let them know the regulatory process wasn’t followed for these cardroom regulations. Find your local legislator here.
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Send a note to your local paper letting them know cardrooms plan to take legal action against the DOJ.
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Call the Bureau and the AG’s office and make your voice heard. Hold Attorney General Rob Bonta accountable for the impacts of these regulations and his underhanded process for adopting them.
- Call the Bureau of Gambling Control: (916) 830-1700
- Call AG Rob Bonta’s Public Line: (916) 210-6276
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