The seemingly never ending battles between California cardrooms and tribal casino operators operators rages on. After years of not being able to get together for online poker, the fight over “house-banked games” has taken center state.

This week, the US District Court for the Eastern District of California dismissed a lawsuit filed by three of the state’s gaming tribes who accused the state government of violating the tribes’ gaming compacts.

Specifically, the tribes argued that the state violated exclusivity provisions of the compacts by allowing commercial cardrooms to offer house-banked games, in which players play against the house (blackjack) rather than against each other (poker).

Despite the setback, Tribes are vowing to continue their legal fight against the state for permitting private cardrooms. Other tribal operators have filed similar lawsuits against the cardroom industry in the state, which some believe has occasionally benefited from sketchy behavior by state regulators. The industry hasbeen the subject of numerous federal probes involving anti-money laundering practices and illegal sports betting, among other and other “criminal activity”.

Read more about the fight between Tribal interests and California cardrooms at Calvin Ayre.