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California Lawmakers Mull Cardroom Expansion

Written by Jennifer Newell
Last updated on
The State Flag of California

In the poker world, California is known for two things. One is the plethora of cardrooms for poker players throughout the state. The other is the many years of infighting over online poker in California before and after Black Friday, infighting that ultimately prompted lawmakers to be so frustrated as to give up on the issue altogether.

The legislature now needs to work with tribal entities, cardroom owners, and all associated parties in California to discuss the potential expansion of cardrooms.

Unsurprisingly, it’s not going as smoothly as they originally hoped.

A Longtime Coming

The entire situation started long ago, with the legalization of cardrooms in California and casinos on Native American reservations. But its limitations came into sharp focus in January of this year.

We detailed the pertinent law that regulates land-based gambling establishments per the California Gambling Control Commission (CGCC) and the state’s Attorney General and Department of Justice. It oversees the industry, which consists of 109 federally-recognized tribes, only a portion of which offer full gambling casinos. In addition, the CGCC oversees 82 gambling licenses for cardrooms, ones with card and dice games that are banked by players, not the establishments. Out of the 82 licenses, only 51 are now operational, some with varying conditions applied. Another two operate under temporary licenses, and six are pending interim renewals.

That’s a lot of gambling.

Per the original Gambling Control Act, there were limitations to the number of licenses available. More specifically, the licensing window closed on December 31, 1999. Then, a moratorium on new licenses took effect until January 1, 2023.

There was a bill in the California legislature in 2022 to extend the moratorium for at least one year, but the bill didn’t make it through the Senate Governmental Organization Committee to the Senate floor for a vote.

Why couldn’t they find consensus? The two primary factions vying for legislative support – gaming tribes and commercial cardroom operators – could not agree on what to do about it.

Current Bill on the Move

New legislation appears to be doing the job. AB341 shows its authors as California Representatives James Ramos, Eduardo Garcia, Devon Mathis, and Mike Gipson, along with principal co-authors State Senators Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh and Evan Low.

They introduced the bill on January 30. After a delay, the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee took up the bill and passed it by a 21-to-1 vote.

On its way to the House, lawmakers found a need for an amendment to clarify the dates of the moratorium. The bottom line remained: the bill will extend the moratorium on gambling establishments in California until January 1, 2043. There are some small provisions allowing, for example, cardrooms to add two new gaming tables every four years, should they choose to do so.

When Rep. Ramos brought it in for a third reading on the Assembly floor on March 23, it passed by an overwhelming 68-to-1 vote. That sent it to the State Senate, where it has remained for several weeks.

There is time to ensure that all interested parties will be on the same page before the Senate chooses to vote. The session is open for several more months in 2023.

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