Californian Tribes seek to establish a 20-year cardroom moratorium

The bill, named AB341, would allow smaller cardrooms to increase revenue streams without drastic expansion.

California Tribes are seeking to gain approval from the state legislature for a new gambling bill. Under this proposed legislation, AB341, they would be able to expand smaller cardrooms and impose a new cardroom moratorium for the next 20 years.

State Assemblymember James Ramos, the first Native American ever elected to California’s state legislature, proposed the bill on January 30, 2023. This Wednesday, the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee approved advancing AB341.

A previous cardroom moratorium had been passed with the Gambling Control Act 1997 (which prevented new cardrooms from opening and existing ones from expanding) and has reached the end of its 25-year run.

This occurred last August when the moratorium failed to get renewed by the state legislature. California Senate Governmental Organization Committee Chair Bill Dodd broke the deadlocked 3-3 vote causing the bill to fail to meet the Senate’s deadline for passing legislation.

If AB341 passes it would create a new moratorium that would expire on January 1, 2043. It would not allow new cardrooms or large-scale expansions, but would assist smaller cardrooms in bolstering their revenue.

Existing cardrooms with 20 or fewer tables would be allowed to expand the number of tables by up to two within the first year after the ordinance takes effect. They could add up to two additional tables every four years after this point.

However, from a comprehensive perspective, this bill would only allow establishments to add up to 10 more tables than they had as of January 1, 2023.

Five California tribes, including the Cahuilla Band of Mission Indians, issued a joint statement on the bill. It read: “We believe the proposed legislation by Assemblymember Ramos provides a balance by allowing for a measured expansion of California’s cardroom industry.

“We look forward to working with the Legislature, the cardroom industry and the Tribal community on finding a balance that is consistent with California voters’ support of Tribal gaming.”

Robert Collins

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