Two Southern California gaming tribes have followed up years of complaints about cardrooms operating outside state law with action in the courtroom. The Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians and Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, both based in San Diego County, have named several cardrooms in their complaint filed last week in San Diego Superior Court.
Rincon Chairman Bo Mazzetti issued this statement: “I would like to make it clear, we are not challenging the right of a business to operate, but rather the non-compliance with California law.”
He added, “If the California Department of Justice and the Gambling Control Commission would have enforced the current laws that exist, we would not have taken this action. We have been trying to work with the state for over 13 years on this issue. Unfortunately, this lack of enforcement gives us no other option but to pursue legal remedies.”
Kenneth Kahn, chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians declared, “It is unlawful for cardrooms to operate house-banked and percentage card games,” adding “It’s a problem we’ve been addressing for years through the administrative process, all to no avail. We are now forced to challenge this through the courts. We are simply asking that cardrooms comply with the law.” The lawsuit also seeks an injunction against the defendants.
The lawsuits target Hustler Casino, Commerce Casino, Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Garden Casino, Hollywood Park Casino, Oceans 11 Casino, Players Poker Club, Celebrity Casinos and Sahara Dunes Casino and many unnamed defendants.
The tribes are suing to stop the practice whereby many if not most of California’s cardrooms try to sidestep the state law against house-banked card games by hiring a third party to act as the dealer. Such games include blackjack, craps and roulette. This prohibition is actually enshrined in the Golden State’s constitution, which was amended in 2000 to allow tribal gaming, as well as that amendment’s enabling legislation, the Gambling Control Act.
Tribal casinos are able to offer house-banked games, which is why they want to stop the more than 70 card clubs in the state from being able to compete against them in this arena. The lawsuit claims that the cardrooms are engaged in “unfair competition.”
House-banked games generally give the house a 1 percent advantage. But perhaps even more important, if a designated dealer is not used, the time between games will increase because the dealer will have to rotate to each player, decreasing the casino’s profits.
California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) joined into the fray in support of the two tribes with a statement issued by Executive Director Susan Jensen: “Last Friday, two CNIGA member tribes, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians and the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians, filed a lawsuit against several Southern California cardrooms. They felt they had no choice as the state of California has consistently declined to take proper action against the flagrantly illegal activity engaged in by several card rooms in the state. CNIGA and our member tribes have attempted to engage the state on their failure to enforce California law and have discussed the topic time and again with successive attorneys general and officials within the California Department of Justice to no avail.”
The suits come just weeks after the California Bureau of Gambling Control announced its intention to enforce regulations against banked games. A memo from Chairwoman Stephanie Shimazu warned cardrooms that the agency planned to “rescind game rules approvals for games too similar to 21/blackjack that are prohibited by state law. We will notify cardrooms and defer enforcement for a specified period of time to enable cardrooms to prepare for this action.”
The cardrooms disagreed with the tribes’ analysis, and says it’s just a way to remove competition.
“These tribes continually make false statements about the legality of our business in an effort to shut down the card room industry, which supports our cities and provides living wage jobs to thousands of people in California,” said Ryan Stone, owner of three cardrooms in California, told the San Diego Union Tribune. “ This lawsuit is the latest attempt to interfere with a legal industry that has existed in California for over a hundred and fifty years.”
Kyle Kirkland, a cardroom owner who heads up lobbying for the group, agrees with Stone.
“Over the last few years, certain tribal casinos have attempted to eliminate card room competition by challenging games that have existed in card rooms before tribal casinos were even authorized by voters,” he said. “Both player-dealer games and blackjack-style games have been approved by the California Department of Justice and played at California card rooms without harm to or complaint from the public for decades.”
Former California gaming regulator Richard Schuetz told the Union Tribune believes that the tribes have a legitimate gripe.
“They feel they have been mistreated, and no one in the state seems to care,” he said.
