California imposes sweeping changes to blackjack in cardrooms
Alan Riquelmy
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Opponents of new rules for the game of blackjack in California cardrooms say the regulations will cripple the industry and make it go bust.
The rule changes, approved late Friday by the state Office of Administrative Law, prohibit traditional blackjack in Golden State cardrooms. Under the new rules, cardroom players can’t “bust.” Instead, the winner of a hand is determined by which player has the most points toward the target point count, when compared to the player-dealer.
Also, receiving an ace card along with a 10, jack, queen or king no longer means an automatic win.
“Game names shall not include the number 21 or the word ‘blackjack,’” the proposed regulations state.
The new rules also affect the position of player-dealer.
A player-dealer is now someone seated at the table. It’s a position that must be offered to other players at the start of every hand. Also, the position must rotate to at least two other players every 40 minutes or the game ends.
Additionally, a third-party provider of proposition player services — entities that operate as the casino bank under current rules — cannot serve as the player-dealer consecutively.
The cardroom rules become effective April 1. However, cardrooms have until May 31 to present their plans for compliance to the state Department of Justice.
The California Gaming Association, a trade association representing licensed cardrooms, condemned the changes Monday. It said optimistic economic forecasts call for a 50% loss of cardroom jobs because of the changes that will hurt thousands of working families as well as cities that heavily lean on cardroom taxes for providing services.
According to the association, the state Bureau of Gambling Control pushed the new regulations without explaining any legal need for them, or any public harm or safety concerns over the game that’s been in cardrooms for decades.
Also, the bureau failed to give the public notice about the proposed changes or properly engage with the public as the law requires, the association added.
“Attorney General [Rob] Bonta and the bureau have unilaterally implemented extreme regulatory changes that will harm thousands of working families and the dozens of California communities that depend on cardroom taxes,” said Kyle Kirkland, president of the California Gaming Association, in a statement. “By the bureau’s own simplistic economic assessment, these unnecessary regulations will eliminate over half of all cardroom jobs and force many communities to cut police, fire, parks, senior and food programs when the long-standing tax base disappears.”
The state Justice Department said in a statement that it held several meetings with stakeholders before introducing the proposed rules in spring 2025. It followed that introduction with two public hearings in May 2025, where it heard public comment. The comments led to no major changes to the proposed rules.
Those rules proceeded in December to the Office of Administrative Law for review, which granted approval late last week.
The issue of cardrooms offering games like blackjack has been a long simmering dispute between tribal casinos and cardrooms.
The dispute centers on banked games like blackjack, where the “house” serves as the bank. Cardrooms use third-party proposition players, who serve as a bank. Indian casinos say that’s illegal.
It’s an issue that’s existed for years, with no clear legal resolution.
A Sacramento County Superior Court judge last year dismissed a tribal challenge to non-tribal cardrooms offering games like blackjack. She ruled that the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act preempted the case.
The tribes involved in the case appealed.
The California Nations Indian Gaming Association couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.