<\/p>\n
New regulations are cracking down on cardrooms in California<\/p>\n
Jack Hamilton<\/p>\n
Unsplash<\/p>\n
Legal restrictions on card rooms are set to shift in California, but what are card rooms and how are they different from casinos?<\/p>\n
The state Bureau of Gambling Control has ordered card rooms<\/a> to explain by May 31 how they\u2019ll comply with new regulations limiting what games can be played, The Sacramento Bee reported.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> between card rooms and tribal casinos.<\/p>\n Card room owners have protested that the new rules were not properly enacted and that curtailing play will reduce revenue.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what to know:<\/p>\n What are cardrooms?<\/p>\n Card rooms are businesses in California where customers can play various table games, mostly poker and other card games, against one another.<\/p>\n \u201cThe card rooms supply the dealer, tables, chips and cards<\/a>,\u201d the California Grand Casino said. \u201cAnd at least every two hands, the player-dealer position is offered to a different player.\u201d<\/p>\n Card rooms in California range in size<\/a> from one to two tables to the largest card room in the world with 270 tables, the California Gaming Association said.<\/p>\n Card rooms have their origins in gambling games played in old West saloons, according to the California Grand Casino.<\/p>\n In 1872, the state banned \u201cbanked\u201d games, in which gamblers bet against the house.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n How are card rooms different from casinos?<\/p>\n Blackjack, the popular game played at many casinos, could get banned at state-licensed card rooms throughout California under a new proposal to restrict \u201cbanked card\u201d gambling under the state\u2019s Department of Justice. KANSAS CITY STAR FILE IMAGE How did card rooms start?<\/p>\n