In the state of California, eighteen of the state’s tribes that operate casinos are planning on launching a massive campaign that could potentially see this western state becoming one of the latest to fully legalize sports betting activities within its borders. As suggested, this campaign will aim at seeking voters to decide on whether to legalize sports betting activities or not.

It should be noted that the state of California has already attempted to take steps towards legalizing online sports betting and online gambling several times before the campaign. At the moment, it is fully legal to wager on daily fantasy sports in California, but this is only due to the fact that daily fantasy sports are not classified as online wagering.

Golden State’s Sports Betting Industry

Despite some recent progress in this matter, the previous attempts to legalize online gambling in the state has far away from becoming the reality. Considering the state’s difficult politics, it is yet unclear when legalized online gaming will become a reality for the state’s residents. One move which made this possible came last May when the United States Supreme Court decided to overturn one of the federal bans on sports betting.

This landmark decision gave every state the opportunity to make its moves regarding this matter. Eastern states including Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey immediately jumped at this great opportunity while some other states followed, but not California. Today, the majority of the states are readily jumping on the bandwagon considering massive gaming revenues that are generated by such activities.

One of the major issues that the state of California is facing regarding this matter is the great resistance of the tribal casino venues. The truth is that there is a battle between the state’s Indian Gaming Association and independently working card rooms. This naturally poses a great issue for the state’s voters who eventually decide on the future of the state’s gambling market.

The Latest Initiative Led by Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians

The latest initiative which could see the state becoming one of the states with legalized sports betting activities came from one of the federally-recognized tribal organizations Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians. The tribe alongside seventeen other federally-recognized tribes hopes to get a legalization question included in the following year’s ballot.

One of the efforts made includes the tribal attorney filling some paperwork with the state’s Attorney General Office which seeks official permission to start collecting signatures from the registered voters which are required in order to get the initiative added to the following ballot. Commenting on the news, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians’ Chairman Mark Macarro said that this ballot question would primarily focus on asking the state’s voters to approve a California constitutional amendment to allow licensed racetracks and tribal casinos to provide real-money wagering on an assortment of collegiate and professional sports.

In the case of this sports betting initiative being passed, tribal casinos and licensed racetracks will be able to take real-money wagers on various kinds of sports activities excluding high school sports activities. He also added that these venues will also pay the state 10% taxes on their generated gross gaming revenues. As reported, this initiative was supported by several other state’s tribes including the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and the Barona Band of Mission Indians among others.

As reported recently, three major tribal casinos in California are determined to continue their latest legal battle against the state’s new cardroom ruling. The ruling allows for private, gambling facilities, which includes casinos operating within the state’s borders to offer house-banked card games.

Several days ago, the United States District Court for California decided to completely dismiss a lawsuit which was filled by three California tribal casinos including the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, and Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation.

The three casinos in their lawsuit accused the state of violating their gaming compacts. More specifically, the three tribal casinos argued that the state of California in their latest cardroom ruling guidelines violates their exclusivity provision as the latest guidelines permit commercial casinos and cardrooms to provide their customers so-called house-banked card games in that customers compete against the casino such as in blackjack rather than competing against each other such in poker.

House Roles Assigned to Every Player

Following the latest cardroom ruling guidelines, several commercial cardrooms operating within the state’s borders actually came up with a unique variation which is known as player-banked card games in which the role of the house is assigned to every participating player seated at the same table on a certain rotating basis. This in practice means that the role of the house is performed by a proposition, third-party players who are generally employed by several private companies only for this purpose, to act as dealers.

In their lawsuit, the three tribal casinos stated that this rotation rule is actually oftentimes skirted by commercial gambling facilities and casinos by these propositions, third-party players who offer the dealer role to every player seated at the table who generally rotate. However, players usually decline this offer and decide to go with their gaming sessions as usual.

Several days before, the official Judge on the case, John Menendez decided to completely dismiss this lawsuit stating that the three tribal casinos’ gaming compacts which have been negotiated four years ago do not integrate the matching clauses of exclusivity as other gaming compacts which have been inked by the state with other tribal gaming facilities in 1999. For this reason, the judge decided that the three tribes filling the lawsuit had no exclusivity rights beyond those rights that are already stated in the state’s constitution.

The Tribes Continuing Their Legal Battles

Following this news, the three tribes issued an official statement in which they agree that the cardroom ruling was just a procedural finding by the state’s court which lacks the power when it comes to requiring the state to finally enforce the compacts law under their compacts. Moreover, in their official statement, the three tribes also stated that they believe that the state’s court’s point was actually that the gaming compacts were not and cannot be the major vehicle under that the tribes themselves can force the state’s officials to enforce new cardroom laws.

Furthermore, the tribes also stated that they believe that the state’s court was completely incorrect when it concluded that the tribal gaming compacts do not provide them a basis required to compel the state’s officials to enforce new gaming laws. All in all, the tribes will continue their legal battles by appealing the latest cardroom ruling. It should be noted that this is not the first time California’s cardroom gaming facilities face lawsuits of this kind. In fact, several other tribal operators within the state filed their lawsuits previously stating that California’s cardroom facilities often time illegally benefit from sports betting, money laundering, and other criminal activities.

As announced recently, three tribal casino operators in California lost a legal battle regarding which operators should have exclusivity when it comes to offering card games such as baccarat and blackjack. According to the most recent report, the three major Californian Indian tribes lost their legal battle against the California state.

The lawsuit was filled by a trio of tribal casino operators in the state amid their claims that their multiple gaming compacts had been actually violated as commercial casinos operating in the state started offering table and card games in which competitors compete against the casino rather than competing against each other. The tribes have argued that their unique gaming compacts that had been negotiated four years ago contain multiple provisions which actually give them all of the exclusive rights to provide card, casino-banked games.

However, their most recent filed federal suit which contended that this particular restriction was violated by commercial casinos had created a new rotating casino role which actually allowed customers to take their turns and play against each other. The lawsuit also stated that the violations occurred following the California Bureau of Gambling Control introducing its new card games guidelines which are actually the one creating a rotating casino role.

Rotation Rule Frequently Violated by Commercial Casinos

Following the release of new card games guidelines by the California Bureau of Gambling Control, all sorts of croupier difficulties emerged on the scene. Despite the fact that it seems that these latest guidelines proposed are completely in line with the already arranged conditions related top exclusivity, tribal casinos in California stated that this casino rotation rule is being frequently skirted by commercial gaming venues.

In their lawsuit, the three federally-acknowledged casinos also stated that commercial gaming facilities with the rule actually make use of multiple third-party players. In other words, the tribal casinos stated that people employed by commercial casinos are oftentimes employed by different private companies in order to act as croupiers as many standard competitors tend to decline these kinds of offers regarding serving as the dealer. All of this leads the trio of California tribal casinos to file a lawsuit.

Requests Proposed by Tribal Casinos

The suit by three tribal casinos was filled with the state’s Court of Appeals located in San Francisco. The lawsuit actually sought instant injunctions against gambling facilities of commercial kinds which as stated in the lawsuit violated exclusive rights to offering card games which are house-banked. As previously mentioned, the three tribal casinos which filed the lawsuit are the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation which operated the popular Cache Creek Casino Resort located in Sacramento.

The other two casinos include the Sycuan Band and the Viejas Band which operate Scuyan Casino Resort and Viejas Casino in San Diego. However, shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the judge responsible for the lawsuit dismissed it by explaining that the three tribal casinos’ gaming compacts, in fact, do not feature the matching exclusivity provisions as integrated within arrangements which are inked back in 1999. For this reason, the judge decided that the three tribal casinos can expect the sought exclusivity rights which had been granted under the state’s constitution provision.