A three-decade moratorium on new card rooms in California ended last year when lawmakers deadlocked on re-upping a law that had capped the number of card clubs in the state at 72.
Card clubs have operated in the state for more than 150 years, although they have been mostly confined to Los Angeles, the Bay Area and the Central Valley.
As a result, the Bureau of Gambling Control (BGC) has begun accepting applications for new clubs. Of course, any such club must have the OK of the municipality it is located in.
After the legislature failed to extend the moratorium, the BGC issued this memo:
“Historically, the legislature extended this moratorium on the expansion of gambling. However, a bill to extend the moratorium did not pass by the end of the 2022 legislative session. As a result, the existing moratorium, as currently constituted by Business and Professions Code sections 19962 and 19963, expires on January 1, 2023.”
One reason why the moratorium was enacted in the first place had to do with concerns by some law enforcement, including the attorney general of California, who wrote in 1996: “The overwhelming evidence has pointed to the incredible lack of local enforcement. Local officials either cannot afford the oversight that is necessary to ensure cleanly run card rooms or are attempted to ‘look the other way’ as card rooms become cash cows for the city’s coffers.”
However, the vetting process for a card room has changed significantly since the 1990s. The BGC conducts a rigorous press that includes a background check that covers honesty, integrity, general character, reputation, habits, financial history and criminal history.
