California’s cardroom sector has fired back at the state with two lawsuits challenging new regulations that would effectively ban blackjack-style games from April, threatening to wipe out thousands of jobs and cripple dozens of local councils.

The legal action, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, targets Attorney General Rob Bonta’s decision to shut down the use of third-party proposition players (TPPPs), the mechanism cardrooms have relied on for years to offer player-banked 21 games without breaching tribal exclusivity rights.

How the Ban Works

TPPPs are licensed businesses that essentially act as the bank at cardroom tables, allowing venues to offer blackjack without technically designating a player as the dealer. It’s been a clever workaround that’s kept California’s cardrooms competitive. But Bonta argues it crosses the line into territory reserved for tribal casinos under state compacts.

The new rules set to take effect in April, with full implementation by June, would close this loophole entirely.

For cardrooms across the state, it’s an existential threat.

Economic Fallout Could Be Severe

The numbers paint a grim picture. State projections estimate cardrooms could lose around $464 million in annual revenue, while tribal casinos might pick up roughly $232 million as players shift their custom or head out of state entirely. The job impact is equally stark, with approximately 10,000 positions at risk.

Several cities that depend heavily on cardroom tax revenue are staring down the barrel of serious budget crises. Commerce faces potentially losing 60% of its cardroom income, which currently accounts for more than 40% of the city’s entire general fund. Officials there are already floating a sales tax increase on the 2026 ballot to plug the gap.

Bell Gardens and Gardena are in similarly precarious positions. Some local authorities warn the changes could push them toward bankruptcy without alternative revenue streams.

Industry Calls Foul on Process

California Gaming Association President Kyle Kirkland has come out swinging, describing the regulatory shift as a “power grab” that threatens more than half the cardroom jobs in California. The industry’s frustration centres not just on the outcome, but the process.

Kirkland pointed out that cardrooms have operated these games for decades under previous attorneys general without incident. He claims Bonta pushed through the changes “without identifying a single public safety concern” and ignored 1,764 public comments on the proposed regulations.

The lawsuits, brought by the CGA alongside individual cardrooms and TPPP businesses, seek to block the regulations from taking effect and have them declared unlawful. It’s a high-stakes legal gamble. But for an industry facing what amounts to a shutdown of its most popular offering, there’s little choice but to fight.

Tribal Rights vs Economic Reality

At the heart of this dispute is the balance between protecting tribal gaming exclusivity, guaranteed under state compacts, and the economic reality of California’s established cardroom sector. Tribal casinos have long argued that cardroom blackjack games violate their exclusive rights to banked card games. Cardrooms maintain they’ve operated within the law using the TPPP structure.

What happens next depends on how quickly the courts move. With April looming, California’s cardroom industry is hoping for an injunction to pause the regulations while the legal arguments play out. For the 10,000 workers whose livelihoods hang in the balance, and the cities relying on cardroom revenue to keep the lights on, the stakes couldn’t be higher.