A judge has approved a temporary restraining order that will allow cardrooms to continue to offer blackjack
A San Francisco Superior Court judge has granted a temporary restraining order that halts the implementation of major blackjack rule changes across California cardrooms. The legal victory provides immediate relief to nearly 75 gaming venues that faced severe operational restrictions under guidelines issued by the Bureau of Gambling Control.
Representatives from the California Gaming Association successfully argued for the injunction by demonstrating that the impending restrictions would immediately eliminate half of all cardroom jobs and drastically reduce local municipal tax funding.
The core of the legal dispute centers on which state entity possesses the explicit authority to dictate and alter active gambling rules. Legal counsel for the cardroom association asserted that California law delegates the power to establish and approve specific game procedures solely to the California Gambling Control Commission rather than the state Justice Department.
Conversely, state attorneys countered that the bureau maintains full statutory authority to define what constitutes an authorized controlled game under existing law. The presiding judge issued a preliminary finding that the landmark Gambling Control Act does not permit the bureau to enact these sweeping regulatory modifications.
The newly approved state guidelines aim to fundamentally restructure how blackjack functions by banning traditional point totals and eliminating the standard terminology from game branding. Under the contested framework, cardrooms would have to eliminate automatic wins for natural hands and remove the bust feature entirely.
The rules also demand that the critical player-dealer position rotate to multiple non-banking players every forty minutes or the game must close. These strict limitations are heavily supported by native tribal gaming operators who maintain exclusive legal rights to host house-backed table games.
According to official estimates from the state’s Department of Justice, the targeted regulations could strip cardrooms of up to $68 million in collective revenue. The temporary injunction will remain active for 45 days while the court gathers additional written testimony ahead of an upcoming midsummer hearing.
