Cardroom workers, along with business and union leaders, held a rally near Fresno City Hall on Thursday to protest proposed state regulations that would ban blackjack-style games in California cardrooms. The group gathered outside Attorney General Rob Bonta’s Fresno office at Mariposa Mall, voicing opposition to the Department of Justice proposals affecting cardrooms not located on tribal land.
The proposed regulations seek to close loopholes that have allowed state-licensed cardrooms to offer blackjack-style games. Currently, these games are structured as peer-to-peer contests using third-party proposition player services rather than traditional “banked games” where players compete against the house. Cardrooms such as 500 Club in Clovis and Club One Casino in Fresno operate under this system. In contrast, tribal-owned casinos like Table Mountain Casino Resort and Chuckchansi Gold Resort & Casino are permitted to offer banked games.
According to the California Gaming Association (CGA), card rooms in Fresno County generate hundreds of jobs and contribute significantly to the local economy, providing $128.5 million in total economic impact and generating $500 million in statewide taxes.
The CGA has warned that implementing the proposed regulations could result in the loss of more than 230 living wage jobs and reduce city funding by millions of dollars. Kyle Kirkland, president of both Club One Casino and the CGA, stated that his establishment alone contributes $1 million annually to Fresno’s tax revenue.
Kirkland emphasized that there have been no private complaints about blackjack-style games except from tribal-owned casinos. “This is 100% politically driven. There is nothing that impacts the tribes in any meaningful way. We offer peer-to-peer gaming and blackjack-style gaming. They’re all approved,” Kirkland said. “There is absolutely no reason whatsoever for the games now, all of a sudden, to be deemed illegal, unlawful, unsuitable for play.”
A Standard Regulatory Impact Assessment from Bonta’s office suggests that half of all players might stop visiting cardrooms if the new rules take effect. Kirkland argued that this would have an even greater impact: losing 50% of revenue could force Club One Casino out of business. “We’d have to radically rethink what we do and how we operate,” he said.
Some tribal groups maintain that approximately 80 privately owned gambling halls across California are illegally offering games such as blackjack, baccarat, and pai gow poker—games they argue divert revenue from tribal communities. These tribes have pursued legal action; however, a judge recently ruled against them by determining federal gambling law takes precedence over state efforts to restrict these games.
“It’s not about killing card rooms. It’s not about killing cities. It’s about protecting what’s ours,” Tuari Bigknife, attorney general for the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians—which operates a casino in San Diego County—told CalMatters.
Shavon Moore-Cage, former vice president of AFSCME Local 36 at a Los Angeles casino, noted that many cardrooms barely survived closures during the Covid-19 pandemic and may not withstand another significant setback.
