Judge blocks rules targeting blackjack-style games at California cardrooms

A San Francisco Superior Court judge has blocked enforcement of California gaming regulations that would have banned blackjack-style games at state-licensed cardrooms, allowing the venues to continue offering the games while a legal challenge proceeds.

Judge Richard Darwin issued a preliminary injunction Thursday, pausing regulations advanced by Attorney General Rob Bonta’s Bureau of Gambling Control. The California Gaming Association, which filed the challenge, said the court found the bureau had exceeded its authority by adopting rules that would effectively operate as a statewide ban.

The dispute centers on how cardrooms offer blackjack, baccarat, and pai gow poker. Tribal casinos in California may offer “banked games,” where players compete against the house. Cardrooms instead use a model in which players compete against one another, with third-party proposition player services filling seats and bankrolling games.

The proposed regulations would have closed the legal framework that allows that model. Cardrooms filed two lawsuits in early 2026 seeking to invalidate the rules.

According to the California Gaming Association, the court found “clear and convincing evidence” that enforcing the regulations would irreparably harm cardrooms and their communities.

Kyle Kirkland, owner of Club One Casino in Fresno and president of the association, said the ruling supports the group’s position that the bureau tried to rewrite state gaming law. He said the regulations were driven by pressure from “powerful tribal gaming interests” seeking to remove competition from cardrooms.

“Cardrooms have lawfully operated the games targeted by these regulations for decades. Our games support thousands of middle-class jobs and generate critical revenue for communities across California. Instead of protecting those communities, Attorney General Bonta chose to advance regulations that threaten local economies, public safety funding, and the livelihoods of thousands of Californians,” Kirkland said.

Kirkland said Club One contributes $1 million annually to Fresno’s tax revenue. The association said the Bureau of Gambling Control received more than 1,700 public comments opposing the regulations before finalizing them without meaningful changes.

Tribal-owned casinos are allowed under state law to offer banked games. A coalition of Native American tribes has argued that cardrooms’ use of third-party proposition players is an illegal workaround that lets privately owned gambling halls compete unlawfully and diverts hundreds of millions of dollars from tribal communities.

According to Bonta’s economic analysis, the regulations could eliminate more than 50% of cardroom revenues statewide, threatening jobs and reducing local tax revenue used for police, fire protection, parks, youth programs, and other city services.