On Friday, the state of California banned blackjack from being played in cardrooms, a decision that a local business owner says will cost the state tens of thousands of jobs and millions in tax revenue.

Attorney General Rob Bonta’s Department of Justice approved regulations that forbids cardrooms from playing the game, a decision backed by Indian gaming casinos, the California Gaming Association says.

Unlike the cardrooms, Indian casinos such as Table Mountain, Chukchansi Gold, and Tachi Palace locally will still be able to offer blackjack to players.

The regulations will take effect April 1, and cardrooms will have 60 days from that to submit plans for compliance.

The gaming association says the state never showed how having blackjack, a game played legally in California for decades, has done substantive harm to the public.

Kyle Kirkland, president of both the gaming association and Fresno’s Club One Casino, said cardrooms will likely lose 50% of revenue. That level of loss could be enough to shut down many cardrooms, he told GV Wire previously.

“Attorney General Bonta and the Bureau have unilaterally implemented extreme regulatory changes that will harm thousands of working families and the dozens of California communities that depend on cardroom taxes,” Kirkland said in a statement Monday. “By the Bureau’s own simplistic economic assessment, these unnecessary regulations will eliminate over half of all cardroom jobs and force many communities to cut police, fire, parks, senior, and food programs when the long-standing tax base disappears.”

Kirkland said that Club One generates $1 million annually in tax revenue for the city of Fresno.

Related Story: Is AG Bonta’s Proposed Blackjack Ban the End for Fresno Cardrooms?

No Substantive Changes Made After Receiving 1,600 Comments

By April 1, Club One will not have blackjack, Kirkland told GV Wire. That is, unless the gaming association is successful in legal actions against the state justice department.

Kirkland said the justice department in a unilateral decision did not seriously take into consideration public sentiment from cardrooms, private citizens, and cities that receive tax money from those businesses.

The Office of Administrative Law did not hold any public hearings concerning the decision, according to a news release from the agency. This despite getting 888 comments on blackjack regulations and 876 comments regarding other rule changes when the justice department held two public meetings in May 2025.

Of those more than 1,600 comments to the justice department, no substantive changes were made, according to the news release from OAL.

“They took nothing. It was not a transparent process at all. It’s very heavy handed, we, the card room industry don’t think they have the legal justification to go forward with these regulations,” Kirkland said. “We think their process was flawed and they failed to follow the law. We’re gonna push back. It’s too important. It’s devastating to us.”

Related Story: Judge Shuts Down California Tribes’ Latest Bid to Crush Local Cardrooms

18,000 People Working in Cardrooms, $730 Million in Wages: DOJ

Because blackjack is the most popular card game, most cardrooms will not be able to survive, Kirkland said. In its own assessment, the justice department estimates about 18,000 people working in cardrooms, generating $730 million in wages.

Kirkland said that figure more likely exceeds 20,000 people. Club One sends $1 million a year in tax revenue to the city of Fresno, Kirkland said. He said these decisions only benefit Indian casinos which make up some of the largest political donors in the state of California.

For two decades and four attorneys general, blackjack has been legal in California. Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said their decision stems from a 19th Century ban on the game 21, something Kirkland said is very different from blackjack.

“Why do I have two decades of playing these games with no harm to the public and no public complaint other than from a tribe?” Kirkland said. “What’s driving that? What’s changing the law?”