The judge blocks tribes experience to launch rooms for no work

From Ryan SabalowCalmness

This story was originally published by CalmattersS Register about their ballots.

Over the years, casino -owned tribes have spent millions in court, in the legislature and in the ballot, trying to unsuccessfully force their only casino casino competitors in California.

Today, a judge is blocking their latest efforts.

Last year tribes convinced California legislation and governor Gavin Newo To allow them to sue gambling halls called rooms with cards above the tribes’ claim that they have exceptional rights to offer Las Vegas -style gambling in the country.

So Senate Bill 549Whoever gave the tribes a shot this year to resolve his dispute in the Supreme Court of Sacramento County.

Supreme Court Judge Lori Domorel today rejected the tribal case, saying the Federal Gambling Law replaced the Newsom signed measure.

“The court means that previous efforts to resolve this long -standing dispute – whether through regulatory actions, legislation, voting initiatives or court disputes – were not available,” Djrel wrote in an indicative decision that she approved during a hearing. The court “recognizes the true desire shared by many stakeholders, including the legislature in California, to achieve the merit and to achieve a final resolution. The court does not slightly accept the importance of the questions in order to pursue itself and, if it was within its powers to provide final resolution, will strive to do so.”

However, Dorrell wrote that he was “bound by the boundaries of the federal law.”

The California Card Industry applauds the decision.

“We are encouraged by today’s decision,” said Kyle Kirkland President of the California Games Association in a written statement. “Our members will continue to maintain good jobs, vital public services and local economies in California, while maintaining the highest standards of integrity, accountability and compliance.”

The tribes say that they strongly disagree with the court’s decision and plan to dress it.

“This result is particularly alarming, given that the State Law, adopted only last year, explicitly gives tribes in the State Court,” James Siva, chairman of the Indian Californian States Association, said in a written statement. “It is difficult to agree with this decision with the clear intention of the legislature, and once again the court has bypass the actual merits of the case – effectively refusing the tribes an honest opportunity to seek justice.”

Tribal revenue against urban taxes

The tribes filed a lawsuit on January 2, the first day when the courts were opened on the day after the SB 549 came into force.

The tribal claim claims that the dozens of gambling halls scattered throughout California are illegally offering card games such as Poker Black Jack and Pai Go, which are cut into the revenue of the gambling of the tribes.

“The defendants brazenly profit from the illegal gambling,” the tribes said in the opening line of their trial.

The tribes say that years ago, California voters gave them exclusive rights to host table games that they use as a critically important source of revenue to support historically despondent communities.

According to the bill, the tribes cannot receive any money or lawyer’s fees from the trial. Instead, they could file a petition court to decide if the card rooms could continue to offer controversial games.

The bets are high outside the casinos as some cities receive almost half of their budgets from taxes on card rooms, which means that the tribal victory in court would endanger money for police, firefighters and other local services.

The San Jose City Council Sergio Himenenes told the lawmakers last year that the city receives $ 30 million each year from rooms with cards, enough to finance 150 police officers or 133 firefighters. Jimenes said the money is in danger if the tribes prevail in court.

The card industry claims that the games are legal and that the Prosecutor General has approved each of them over the years.

The tribes have tried to judge rooms for unfair business practices before. But the courts in California have ruled that the tribes have no situation.

“There is little doubt that commercial cardboard halls are moving under the law by offering illegal games and working outside the boundaries of the state provisions,” Siva says in today’s statement. “All we have ever sought is a clear judicial determination as to whether these practices are legal under state legislation. This is not an unreasonable request – and the tribes should not give up

Their day in court. “

Dear political battle

The battle over the SB 549 was one of the most expensive political battles at the two-year legislative session, which ended last year.

A bilateral coalition of legislators, many of them with large tribal casinos in their areas, insists on the gambling measure, while a smaller group of card legislators in their areas opposed it.

An unsuccessful initiative for sports betting from 2022 followed, which tribes spent millions of dollars on sponsorship and included a similar provision that would allow the tribes to judge.

The opposite gambling interests donated at least $ 4.3 million to the 120 members of the legislature since January 2023, according to Database of digital democracyS

Faced with what they saw as an existential threat, the card rooms responded to the introduction of the SB 549 with a massive lobbying blitz. In 2023, the Hawaiian Gardens casino only spent $ 9.1 million to lobby, the second highest amount was reported to state regulators. Only the international oil giant, Chevron Corp., spent more.

Then, although Newsom signs the law, the card card industry has spent more than $ 3 million in the November election in revenge against four lawmakers who played key roles in passing the bill.

Three of candidates targeting rooms with cards eventually lost, including the author of the bill, the democratic senator Josh Newman of Fullerton.

In the meantime Push other competitors for gambling California continued in the legislature this year.

The legislature approved Assembly Bill 831 In September. The measure prohibits online game companies from offering digital lotteries that tribes consider as another threat to their exclusive gambling rights.

Newsom has not yet signed the measure in the law. He did not indicate whether he would do it. He has until Monday to make a decision.

This article was Originally Published on CalMatters and was reissued under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Noderivatives License.