Judge Body-Slams California’s Blackjack Crackdown in Big Cardroom Win

In a landmark ruling for California’s cardroom operators, a San Francisco Superior Court judge has delivered a major blow to the state’s recent efforts to crack down on blackjack games at local cardrooms.

On Tuesday, Judge Richard Darwin sided with the California Gaming Association (CGA), the trade group representing the state’s cardroom industry, in ruling that the California Bureau of Gambling Control (CBCG) exceeded its statutory authority when it rolled out new rules targeting blackjack offerings at licensed cardrooms across the state.

The CGA had argued that the regulatory body did not have the legal power to implement the restrictive blackjack rules without explicit approval from the state legislature, a point Judge Darwin agreed with in his formal ruling. The decision represents a significant victory for cardroom operators who pushed back against the rules, which they claimed would gut a core revenue driver for their businesses and limit options for local gamblers.

This post first appeared on Casino.org.