New regulations are cracking down on cardrooms in California
Jack Hamilton
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Legal restrictions on card rooms are set to shift in California, but what are card rooms and how are they different from casinos?
The state Bureau of Gambling Control has ordered card rooms to explain by May 31 how they’ll comply with new regulations limiting what games can be played, The Sacramento Bee reported.
The new rules roll back various blackjack variants played at card rooms and put stricter limits on third-party dealers. They come after years of conflict between card rooms and tribal casinos.
Card room owners have protested that the new rules were not properly enacted and that curtailing play will reduce revenue.
Here’s what to know:
What are cardrooms?
Card rooms are businesses in California where customers can play various table games, mostly poker and other card games, against one another.
“The card rooms supply the dealer, tables, chips and cards,” the California Grand Casino said. “And at least every two hands, the player-dealer position is offered to a different player.”
Card rooms in California range in size from one to two tables to the largest card room in the world with 270 tables, the California Gaming Association said.
Blackjack, the popular game played at many casinos, could get banned at state-licensed card rooms throughout California under a new proposal to restrict “banked card” gambling under the state’s Department of Justice. KANSAS CITY STAR FILE IMAGE How did card rooms start?
Card rooms have their origins in gambling games played in old West saloons, according to the California Grand Casino.
In 1872, the state banned “banked” games, in which gamblers bet against the house.
For the next century, card rooms operated under local control, reaching about 300 in California before the state took over licensing and regulating the businesses in 1997.
How are card rooms different from casinos?
Unlike casinos, gamblers don’t play against the house. Instead, they play against each other, the California Cardroom Alliance said.
Card rooms also don’t offer slot machines or video poker.
Players have an opportunity to serve as the dealer, although some cardrooms also contract with professional dealers employed by independent companies, the California Grand Casino said.
How many card rooms are in California?
There are 88 licensed card rooms in California, the California Cardroom Alliance said. They offer more than 1,900 tables for various games and employ more than 23,000 people.
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Don Sweeney has been a newspaper reporter and editor in California for more than 35 years. He is a service reporter based at The Sacramento Bee.