California judge rules against state's new cardroom regulations

California Attorney General Rob Bonta's office lacked the authority to impose new state regulations on the cardroom industry, according to a ruling made by a San Francisco Superior Court judge.

Judge Richard Darwin on June 30 specifically struck down a set of new regulations announced by the California Bureau of Gambling Control in February that would have imposed severe restrictions on player-dealer positions and blackjack-style games in dozens of California-licensed gambling establishments.

"The bureau did not have the authority to issue statewide regulations," Darwin said, according to Courthouse News.

For decades, California cardrooms, which are state-licensed gambling establishments, have operated legally - around the state's ban on "Las Vegas" and tribal casino-style house system, which allows the "house" to bet money against a player.

To do this, California cardrooms have used state-licensed businesses, called third-party proposition player services, that match cardrooms with players to fill empty seats at a table and ensure a game plays out smoothly.

The new regulation would have required these "player-dealer positions" to rotate from a table every 40 minutes, or "the game shall end," and required the table to clear all wages and cards.

Additionally, the new regulation would have banned "any game of blackjack" from being played at these establishments by removing the ability for players to automatically win if they had a winning hand of "the number 21." Instead, the winning hand would be determined by which of the remaining players had the most points "compared to the total points of the player-dealer's hand."

In response to these new regulations, the California Gaming Association filed a lawsuit in March, arguing that these new restrictions would significantly hurt the state's cardroom industry.

In the complaint, the association argued that, under the state's code, the Bureau of Gambling Control is responsible for enforcing the state's gaming laws, "not rewriting them."

The new regulations were expected to go into effect on April 1, but the San Francisco Superior Court issued a preliminary injunction on the new regulations as the case moved through the court system.

Ultimately, Judge Darwin ruled in favor of the California Gaming Association, reaffirming its argument that the Bureau of Gambling Control overreached by attempting to impose new regulations.

"For more than a year, we have said this case is about far more than gaming - it is about whether the Attorney General and his regulators can bypass the Legislature and unilaterally rewrite decades of established law," Kyle Kirkland, the president of the California Gaming Association, said in a statement.

In response to the decision, Bonta's office noted that it was "disappointed in the ruling" and would be reviewing its options. It was unclear if the office will ultimately decide to appeal the decision.

Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at npadilla@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow us on Facebook at TODAY Californian.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California judge rules against state's new cardroom regulations

Reporting by Noe Padilla, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 8:59 AM.