Tribal casinos and competitors in California’s multi-billion dollar gambling industry are engaged in an epic battle in the Legislature this year.
Millions of dollars in tax revenue for local cities are at stake. As pending legislative initiatives would allow California tribes to sue their competitors, private card clubs, for their claim that the card rooms violate the tribes’ exclusive rights to Las Vegas-style gambling.
The card rooms responded with a massive lobbying raid. Hawaiian Gardens Casino in Los Angeles County spent a staggering 9.1 million dollars on lobbying last year, the second-highest amount handed over to state regulators. Only international oil giant Chevron Corp. spent more.
Keith Sharp, general counsel for the cardroom, said such initiatives violate the rights of gambling organizers by taking away what has belonged to them for decades. “And so we’re going to spend the money we must spend. It’s about survival at this point,” he outlined the cardroom’s position.
Bill 549 is pending in the Assembly Governmental Organizations Committee, which handles gambling legislation. A hearing has not yet been scheduled, but those following the bill’s fate say it will take place in April or May.
Card rooms’ annual revenue is just 10 percent of what tribal governments earn from gambling at their 70 tribal casinos. The card rooms also have powerful allies among local officials who say their cities could go bankrupt if their local gambling hall loses this legislative fight.
When Pandemonium shut down the gambling business in Hawaiian Gardens, the city was forced to lay off most of its staff and cut services. Mayor Victor Farfan said it was an example of what would happen if the card room closed.
Many might have thought that the industry could not withstand such a situation, especially since land-based casinos have to compete with the iGaming sphere. After all, despite the ban on online casinos in California, most gambling enthusiasts prefer to play online. This is demonstrated by analyzing the search engine, where you can find such well-known operators as 1win or Pin Up.
Gambling on the Internet is attracted by its simplicity, which is especially noticeable in the popularity of 1win, which stands out from the background with its user-friendly interface. To understand this, our authors decided to registration on the 1win website, and it took less than a minute to create an account with them. After that, all that is left is to log on to the site and get access to thousands of gambling games.
So, it is no surprise that online gambling is beautiful and fits perfectly with the lifestyle of today’s busy people. But despite this appeal of iGaming, many people still want to feel the atmosphere of land-based casinos. That’s why their attendance remains high; even the pandemic couldn’t severely damage this business.
