{"id":95641,"date":"2019-01-07T07:10:02","date_gmt":"2019-01-07T15:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=95641"},"modified":"2019-01-07T07:15:34","modified_gmt":"2019-01-07T15:15:34","slug":"california-tribes-sue-state-over-card-clubs-house-banked-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-tribes-sue-state-over-card-clubs-house-banked-games\/","title":{"rendered":"California Tribes Sue State Over Card Clubs’ \u2018Brazen\u2019 Offering of Alleged House Banked Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three of California\u2019s powerful tribal operators are suing the state and Governor Jerry Brown in a federal court for failing to prevent cardrooms offering what they claim are house-banked games, to which the tribes hold exclusivity in accordance with their gaming compacts.<\/p>\n

\"California
The tribes have had enough of the card clubs so-called \u201cCalifornia games,\u201d which they say are flouting state law and tribal compacts by being too close to traditional casino tables games. (Image: Jay L. Clendenin\/Los Angeles Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The lawsuit — filed Thursday in the Ninth Circuit US District Court by the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and the Viejas and Sycuan Bands of Kumeyaay Indians — accuses the state of being \u201ccomplicit [in] \u2026 and at times even encouraging\u201d the playing of house-banked games like blackjack at California\u2019s cardrooms.<\/p>\n

It argues that this a violation of not just the gaming compacts that exist between the state and the tribes, but also the state constitution, which grants exclusivity to the tribes through an amendment approved by voters in 2000.<\/p>\n

In November, two other tribes \u2013 the Luiseno Indians and Santa Ynez Band of Cumash Indians \u2013 launched legal action<\/a> against the card rooms. That lawsuit claims major venues like Larry Flynt\u2019s Hustler Casino, The Commerce Casino, Hawaiian Gardens, and The Bicycle Casino are guilty of spreading \u201cillegal\u201d so-called \u201cCalifornia games.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

What Exactly are California Games?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cCalifornia games\u201d are versions of popular casino table games, such as blackjack and Pai Gow poker, which skirt the ban on house-banked games by taking a rake from each hand, while allowing players to play in the dealer position — just like in a regular poker cash game.<\/span><\/p>\n

In cases where players do not wish to act as dealer, the card rooms hire employees of third-party companies — who must be state licensed — to \u201cshill\u201d in the dealer spot. The tribes argue that these companies known as ‘TPPPs’ are acting as a \u201cbank.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

California gaming regulators have accepted the use of third-party bankers provided the dealer spot is offered to other players at each table after two hands are dealt \u2014 and then again two hands later on a continuing, rotational basis.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the tribes have argued this is largely theater and that players who are just there to gamble have no interest in the dealer position, nor understand it. This means the dealer spot is often not rotated which allows the clubs essentially to spread Las Vegas-style high-stakes blackjack, banked by TPPPs.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Seven-Year Battle<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The lawsuits are the culmination of a bitter seven-year feud over the games. The tribes have been reluctant to sue until now, possibly because an unfavorable court ruling might further embolden the card clubs. But according to Yocha Dehe Chairman Anthony Roberts, enough is enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cState law, the constitution and our compacts are all very clear about our exclusive right to operate house-banked, casino-style card games,\u201d Yocha Dehe Chairman Anthony Roberts told CDC Gaming Reports. \u201cWe did not want to file this suit, but cardrooms continue to play and brazenly advertise these games, even though it\u2019s patently illegal for them to do so.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In September, California\u2019s Bureau of Gambling Control announced<\/a> it would crack down on the games and planned to “rescind game rules approvals for games too similar to 21\/blackjack that are prohibited by state law.\u201d But the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNGA) Steve Stallings dismissed this as a \u201cdelaying tactic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawsuit seeks an injunction forcing the state to enforce laws prohibiting \u201cbanking card games and twenty-one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The card rooms have warned of widespread closures and job losses if the games — from which they derive around 40 percent of their revenues — are shut down.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three of California\u2019s powerful tribal operators are suing the state and Governor Jerry Brown in a federal court for failing to prevent cardrooms offering what they claim are house-banked games, to which the tribes hold exclusivity in accordance with their gaming compacts. The lawsuit — filed Thursday in the Ninth Circuit US District Court by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":95643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,18,18456],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCalifornia Tribes Sue State Over Card Clubs' 'House Banked' Games<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"California tribes sue state of card clubs so-called \u201cCalifornia games\u201d \u2013 player banked games that the tribes believe are essentially banked by third-party companies.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-tribes-sue-state-over-card-clubs-house-banked-games\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"California Tribes Sue State Over Card Clubs' 'House Banked' Games\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"California tribes sue state of card clubs so-called \u201cCalifornia games\u201d \u2013 player banked games that the tribes believe are essentially banked by third-party companies.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-tribes-sue-state-over-card-clubs-house-banked-games\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-07T15:10:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-01-07T15:15:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/califirnia-games.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"787\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-tribes-sue-state-over-card-clubs-house-banked-games\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-tribes-sue-state-over-card-clubs-house-banked-games\/\",\"name\":\"California Tribes Sue State Over Card Clubs' 'House Banked' Games\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-tribes-sue-state-over-card-clubs-house-banked-games\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-tribes-sue-state-over-card-clubs-house-banked-games\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/califirnia-games.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-07T15:10:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-01-07T15:15:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"California tribes sue state of card clubs so-called \u201cCalifornia games\u201d \u2013 player banked games that the tribes believe are essentially banked by third-party companies.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-tribes-sue-state-over-card-clubs-house-banked-games\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-tribes-sue-state-over-card-clubs-house-banked-games\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-tribes-sue-state-over-card-clubs-house-banked-games\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/califirnia-games.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/califirnia-games.jpg\",\"width\":1400,\"height\":787,\"caption\":\"The tribes have had enough of the card clubs so-called \u201cCalifornia games,\u201d which they say are flouting state law and tribal compacts by being too close to traditional casino tables games. 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