The Bureau of Gambling Control have proposed new California card rooms rules that have many of the establishments saying they will be forced to close if they are enforced. California has over 70 card rooms, many in urban centers where tribal casinos don’t operate.

In addition to poker, these clubs also operate pai gow poker, blackjack and baccarat.  If new rules proposed by the state Bureau of Gambling Control are adopted, card room operators say, playing the games will be so complicated, players will go to tribal casinos that aren’t bound by such rules.

The bureau has been holding hearings on the proposed new rules for about a year, but kept the information close to the vest. All the while, card clubs accused the bureau of hauling water for Indian casinos, which have long held that card clubs violate the state constitution and profit from “illegal gaming practices,” as former California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) Chairman Steve Stallings called it several weeks ago.

The California Gaming Association (CGA), which represents many of the card clubs, called the proposal “a clear attack on the card room industry and a message that the bureau is intent on eliminating this lawful $5.6 billion industry and putting 32,000 Californians out of work.”

For more on how these new rules could affect California card rooms visit GGB News.