Bonta appeals ruling in cardroom regulations litigation
LOS ANGELES (KESQ) - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today appealed a judge's orders invalidating the Bureau of Gambling Control's cardroom regulations for blackjack and other popular table games.
The state Department of Justice's gambling control bureau announced the new rules in February, barring cardrooms from offering blackjack and other player-dealer games -- a move opponents said would devastate the industry. The California Gaming Association and two cardroom groups filed lawsuits seeking to block the changes.
A San Francisco Superior Court judge recently blocked the new regulations that opponents said would financially damage the California Cities Gaming Authority's member communities of Gardena and Inglewood as well as the town of Colma.
Bonta on Friday appealed the judge's ruling.
"Today, we appealed a court ruling that restricts the Bureau of Gambling Control's power to keep card room games lawful, fair, transparent, and consistent with California law,'' Bonta said in a statement. "State law directs the Bureau to decide whether card room games may be approved for play in California or not. We believe the law is on our side, and we look forward to making our case before the Court of Appeal. My office is committed to ensuring a fair and lawful gaming environment for all."
The CCGA says its member cities rely on cardroom revenue to fund essential local services such as public safety officers, parks and community programs.
Authority Chairwoman and Gardena Mayor Tasha Cerda praised the judge's ruling earlier this month.
"This is a decisive win for the working families and small businesses in our cardroom communities,'' Cerda said. "Time and again, our cities told the state that these regulations would eliminate jobs, tear holes in municipal budgets and force cuts to the services residents depend on most.
"Cardroom revenue keeps officers on our streets, firefighters and paramedics aiding residents in need, keeps our parks open and keeps community programs running,'' Cerda continued. ``We are grateful the court recognized the serious and lasting damage these rules would have done to local governments, workers, small businesses, and residents across California."
The CCGA says cardrooms deliver roughly $9.3 million a year to Gardena, more than $5.1 million to Inglewood and about $4.12 million to Colma, and that the money is used to pay for important services and neighborhood programs in each city.
The state's own Standardized Regulatory Impact Assessment had projected that the regulations could cut cardroom revenues statewide by more than half, jeopardizing thousands of jobs and a significant share of the budgets of the cities that host cardrooms, according to the CCGA.
