The California Senate Saturday (31 August) passed an amended version of SB 549, the bill would give the state’s tribes one chance to sue cardrooms and determine whether these venues violate state law. It will now go to Governor Gavin Newsom for final approval.

This centres around the use of third party providers acting as the bank in games such as blackjack and roulette. The case is symbolic of a wider issue of Indian rights not being respected, tribes say.

The Senate approved the amended bill on the final day of the 2024 session. The General Assembly passed it two days earlier.

The General Assembly unanimously passed the proposal, while the Senate vote was 32-2. Should Newsom sign the bill, the tribes will have one chance to sue the state’s cardrooms.

“The passage of SB 549 is fantastic news for California’s tribal nations,” California Nationas Indian Gaming Association chairman James Siva said in a press release posted on Pechanga.net Saturday.

“For over a decade, California tribes have engaged in considerable efforts to defend our exclusive gaming rights guaranteed in the California Constitution. The Tribal Nations Access to Justice Act gives tribes access to justice that has been denied not only in this case, but throughout California history.”

The tribes cannot seek monetary damages, and a lawsuit must be filed by 1 April 25.

From the bill:

This bill would authorize a California Indian tribe, under certain conditions, to bring an action solely against licensed California card clubs and third-party proposition player services providers to seek a declaration as to whether a controlled game operated by a licensed California card club and banked by a third-party proposition player services provider constitutes a banking card game that violates state law, including tribal gaming rights under the constitutional provisions described above, and to request injunctive relief.

igaming business