The long-standing battle between cardrooms and tribes in California may at last reach a resolution, thanks to a bill pushed forward by the California Assembly Judiciary Committee. The proposed legislation, titled SB 549, presents Indian nations with the opportunity to launch legal proceedings against the cardrooms, paving a way to settle their dispute once and for all.
The cultural narrative of California is studded with the history of cardrooms, their genesis dating back to the epoch of the California Gold Rush. These enterprises initially started by facilitating games where punters would stake money against each other. As times changed, the framework of operations also evolved, with cardrooms today employing third-party proposition players to function as the bank in such challenges.
These cardrooms customarily enter into agreements with the aforementioned third-party proposition players, a practice that has come under criticism from the local tribes. Throughout the years, both parties used diverse tactics to seize an advantage against the other. Legal protection for tribes, which are recognized as sovereign governments, prevents them from being the subject of a lawsuit or initiating one.
The introduction of SB 549 offers a potential pathway to put an end to this protracted discord through judicial intervention. Nevertheless, the cardrooms are apprehensive that such a legal manoeuvre could potentially drive them to bankruptcy, leaving them defenceless in the face of competition.
Sen. Josh Newman clarified the non-partisan nature of SB 549, explaining that it isn’t biased towards either party involved in the dispute. Instead, it merely equips tribes with a singular opportunity to validate their allegations – that the cardrooms’ games infringe upon the regulations laid down in the California Constitution.
Tribes Aim For A Definitive Resolution To The Ongoing Conflict
The proposed bill grants tribes a timeframe of three months, starting from January 1, to lodge a single lawsuit against the cardrooms. This critical juncture will allow the tribes to validate their assertions in a court of law.
John Christman, the chairperson of the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, harbours the sentiment that the proposed rule is a fair one. In his view, cardrooms have sidestepped the law by running banked games – a sector supposedly designated for tribal casinos – over the past decades. Christman further points out that studies have estimated that cardrooms cause tribal casinos to lose over $100 million annually.
The tribes champion the notion of having the judiciary decide whether the cardrooms’ actions contravene the Constitution. They hope that this legislative proposal will pave the way for a definitive resolution to their conflict.
The Reaction From California’s Cardrooms Is One of Discontent
The proposed arrangements have not been well-received by the cardrooms, who believe their options for legal retaliation against their rivals would be drastically reduced. They argue that since their games have received approval from both the Bureau of Gambling Control and the state’s attorney general, a lawsuit could jeopardise the state’s prerogative to bring such legislation into effect.
Ed Manning, a spokesperson for the cardrooms, emphasises that all of their offerings have individually received the regulatory green light. He asserts that the cardrooms are operating legally and criticizes the tribes for still insisting on taking them to court. In Manning’s opinion, the tribes’ opposition stems from their disagreement with the attorney general’s decision, prompting them to sue the cardrooms while leveraging their sovereign government status to ward off any potential retaliatory lawsuits.
