Poker Writer
The California Superior Court has upheld its tentative August decision to dismiss tribes’ lawsuit against the state’s card rooms, though a Supreme Court appeal is now inevitable. The suit is the culmination of many years’ effort to force the card rooms to stop dealing games that the tribes consider to violate their exclusivity over casino gambling.
In August, Judge Lauri Damrell indicated her intent to dismiss the suit, but deferred a final decision to an Oct. 10 in-person hearing. She stated her reasoning for dismissing the lawsuit as follows:
The court is mindful that previous efforts to resolve this longstanding dispute – whether through regulatory action, legislation, ballot initiatives, or litigation – have been unavailing. The court recognizes the genuine desire, shared by many stakeholders, including the California Legislature, to reach the merits and achieve a final resolution. The court does not take lightly the importance of the issues at stake and, were it within its authority to provide a definitive resolution, it would endeavor to do so.
On Friday, the tribes had their last chance to try to argue their way out of the tentative ruling. However, the confirmation of the dismissal means that they failed to do so.
The tribes had already indicated in response to the tentative ruling that they would appeal if the case was dismissed. They will now petition the California Supreme Court for the chance to overturn that decision.
The tribes strongly disagree with Judge Damrell. James Siva shared his reasoning for the upcoming appeal:
This outcome is especially troubling given that it was a state law enacted just last year that explicitly gave tribes standing in state court. It’s difficult to reconcile this ruling with the clear intent of the Legislature, and once again, a court has sidestepped the actual merits of the case — effectively denying tribes a fair opportunity to seek justice.
The tribes have said that the card rooms “brazenly profit from illegal gambling.”
California Card Room Lawsuit Background
The tribes filed the lawsuit back in January on the first day the courts were open in 2025. They have long maintained that the card rooms are illegally offering games that cut into the tribes’ California gambling revenue.
This fight goes back several decades with multiple court cases from 2000, 2016 and 2022 in a kind of tug of war of lawsuits and dismissals. The card rooms expanded their offerings following a series of court cases since 2000. In 2016, the tribes sued to stop them, but their case was dismissed. The card rooms sued back in 2022.
By the tribes’ reckoning, they haven’t truly had their day in court, as the merits of the case haven’t received clear judgment. Instead, jurisdiction has been the main focus of the dismissals.
Poker players in the area should keep an eye on the ongoing litigation, as it could seriously affect the future of poker in the state. While the tribes are primarily upset about card rooms dealing blackjack, poker could be adversely affected as well, becoming collateral damage if the card rooms ultimately shut down.
