A court has overruled Attorney General Rob Bonta, blocking his proposed measures to restrict California cardrooms.
Bonta first proposed the restrictions, which include a ban on blackjack, last year. The California Gaming Association (CGA) challenged the legality of the new rules, filing a lawsuit against Bonta.
On Thursday, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Darwin ruled Bonta’s office “likely exceeded its authority by adopting regulations that effectively act as a statewide ban on some of cardroom’s most popular table games. The Court also found clear and convincing evidence that the Bureau’s enforcement of the regulations would irreparably injure cardrooms and their communities.”
— CA Gaming Association (@CACardRooms) May 21, 2026
Judge Darwin granted the CGA a preliminary injunction, allowing the cardrooms to continue operating as normal while the case remains pending.
Ruling Saves Jobs and Revenue, Says CGA
“The Court’s ruling is an important step towards preventing severe and unnecessary harm to cities, workers, and small businesses that depend on the cardroom industry,” said Kyle Kirkland, President of the CGA.
Kirkland owns and operates the Club One Casino in Fresno, where 60% of revenue is generated by player-dealer games and 20% by blackjack. The outright ban on blackjack cuts 20% of the establishment’s business and leaves 40% at risk with new player-deal rotation rules.
“These are easily the most disruptive set of regulations that I have seen in my tenure in the cardroom industry, which is two decades now,” Kirkland told the Sacramento Bee. “I’m not sure most cardrooms would survive because this is such a drastic change.”
Cardroom workers had staged a protest outside a hotel in Sacramento where Bonta was scheduled to speak on Thursday. The workers held signs that read “No cardrooms, no jobs”, but other seemingly unrelated signs of “Don’t defund the police” and “Don’t defund fire” could also be seen.
What Were The Proposals?
Bonta’s proposal focused on two pillars of cardroom operations:
- Player-dealer rotation: Only players seated at the table — not third-party proposition player service employees — may act as the dealer. Players must rotate every 20 minutes.
- Blackjack-style games: The rules would prohibit using “21” as a target number, remove “busting,” eliminate blackjack terminology, and alter tie outcomes.
Cardrooms argue that these changes would render blackjack-style games commercially unviable, effectively removing some of the industry’s most popular offerings.
What Next?
The ruling is only temporary, with the next hearing in the case set for June 30. Tribal groups have fought hard with cardrooms over their expansion into what they claim are tribal exclusive games.
James Siva, Chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA), praised the regulations as an “important step” to combat “unscrupulous and illegal gaming in California”.
Tribes have attempted to stop cardrooms offering the games in various ways, but efforts have so far failed. A judge in Sacramento ruled against tribes that had filed lawsuits against cardrooms last year.
In her ruling, Judge Lauri A. Damrell stated that the tribes’ suit was “preempted by the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA)” and that “severance cannot resolve IGRA preemption.”
Bonta has supported tribal exclusivity for gaming, declaring DFS illegal last year, as well as attempting to restrict cardrooms. Siva also said Bonta is considering action against prediction markets.
“We are very protective of our sovereignty,” Bonta told Business Insider last month. He indicated that he “firmly disagrees” with the CFTC’s stance that federal laws preempt states from regulating prediction markets.
“The fact that we haven’t sued, I think you should not read too much into it,” he added.
Tribal groups are large contributors to Bonta’s political campaigns, as reported by Politico.
