The California Senate has approved by a vote of 32-0 Assembly Bill 341, previously approved by the Assembly, a bill that would “allow for measured growth” of existing cardrooms—while not allowing any new ones to open. The Assembly had approved of the bill by a vote of 68-1 in March.
The bill will now go back to the Assembly for concurrence, i.e. to make the wording of both approved versions read identically.
The bill reenacts a moratorium on cardrooms that was previously in place for a quarter century. That ban was contained in the Gambling Control Act of 1997, provisions of which had a sunset date.
Last year the Assembly wasn’t able to agree on the act’s wording, and so it expired. So, for a brief period, beginning on January 1, 2023, new cardrooms were possible, although apparently none were approved.
The new bill allows licensed cardrooms that have fewer than 20 tables to add up to 10 new ones over the next two decades.
AB 341 was sponsored by the Cahuilla Band of Indians, Commerce Casino & Hotel, Hawaiian Gardens Casino, Kings Card Club, Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians and the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians. Also supporting it was the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA), California Cardroom Alliance, Communities for California Cardrooms, California Cities for Self-Reliance JPA, Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations (TASIN) and Sheriff’s Employee Benefits Association.
