California Tribal Casinos & Indian Gaming | 2025 News Archive
Explore this 2025 news archive containing historical articles about California tribal casinos, Indian gaming, tribal nations, and new construction projects.
A new poll shows 60% of California voters are now open to legalizing sports betting. This is a significant shift from 2022 when two ballot measures were rejected and voted down.
POLL RESULTS
Voter Support
Overall Support: 60% are "open to legalization"
Strong Support: 25% feel sports betting is "long overdue"
Conditional Support: 35% said legalization "might make sense" depending on details
Gender Support: 64% men and 55% women.
Voter Opposition
21% said they are "wary" of legalization
19% said it would be a "huge mistake," citing gambling addiction
The poll was conducted by Politico-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab, a polling collaboration that includes POLITICO, the Jack Citrin Center for Public Opinion Research at UC Berkeley, and UC Berkeley's Possibility Lab.
The survey sampled 1,445 registered voters between July 28 and August 12, 2025. The margin of error is ±2.6%.
In 2022, California voters rejected two sports betting propositions. Proposition 26, which was sponsored by tribal casinos and horse tracks, received only 33% support. Proposition 27, which was sponsored by commercial online sportsbooks, received only 18% support.
California tribal casinos lose in court over cardroom banked game
August 11, 2025
California casino tribes filed a lawsuit early this year against 96 cardrooms that operate blackjack, baccarat, and other "banked" games and claiming their exclusive rights to these games under California law. (See story)
Last Friday Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Lauri Damrell issued a tentative ruling to dismiss the case citing the U.S. Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) as precedence in her decision.
California tribes claim exclusive rights to all "house-banked" gaming in the state based on Proposition 1A, which was approved by voters in March 2000. House-banked games are defined as those where the house acts as the bank (Class III), rather than players winning against other players (Class II).
The tribes are suing the cardrooms for using third-party proposition players (TPPP) at their tables to act as a house bank.
Judge Damrell's ruling is tentative and may be finalized at her next hearing on October 10.
A variation of the classic game of craps, called California Craps, has been introduced for the very first time in California's Central Valley at Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino.
"This game brings the thrills of craps to California players in a way that's accessible, exciting and completely unique. It's a new take on a fan favorite."
- Alan Marrandino, Table Games Director at Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino
California Craps has similar features to classic craps, such as Pass Line, Come, and Field. However, California Craps uses playing cards instead of dice. Players draw cards randomly instead of rolling dice, and bets are placed on outcomes like point numbers, hardways, and field bets.
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California Card Craps Explained - Courtesy of BubbleCrapsTracker, Jul 26, 2020. Available from YouTube
Next California Sports Betting Bill? No in 2026, Yes in 2028
January 28, 2025
California tribal leaders expect not to seek new legislation to legalize sports betting in 2026. There is consensus among tribes that 2028 will be a better time to push for a ballot measure.
The chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA), James Siva, said the tribes have "come too far and have too far to go to rush into this complex sports betting which is tied to iGaming."
"The data is telling us that the time is not right. Definitely not 2026; we're looking more like 2028, but it has to include all tribal communities in California."
- Catalina Chacon, Pechanga Council Member
All California tribes must be united in support of the next sports betting legislation, acording to Chacon. Johnny Hernandez, Vice Chairman of the San Manuel Band, agrees and includes the non-gaming tribes that receive revenue shares from gaming tribes.
In addition to building solidarity for a tribal sports betting bill, and perhaps online casino gambling, there are other major issues currently facing California gaming tribes that are priorities in 2025. These include major concerns over sweepstakes-style sports betting, newer daily fantasy sports, and cardrooms with "house-banked" card games.
Tribes claim exclusive rights to all house-banked gaming in California, and allege some cardrooms use third-party proposition players (TPPP) at their table to act as a house bank. The cardroom games challenged by the tribes include blackjack, some types of poker, baccarat, and other Vegas-style table games.
Seven major tribes are currently focused on a lawsuit in the California Superior Court, which is filed against 96 cardrooms and third-party proposition players (TPPP). (See California Casino War) The litigation process is expected to last through 2025 and continue with appeals into 2026-2027.
In addition to this legal battle, the hopes of sports betting by California tribes became tempered after the expensive 2022 ballot fight against seven commercial sportsbook operators. The tribes pushed Proposition 26 for sports betting only inside tribal casinos, and the commercial operators pushed Proposition 27 to legalize online sportsbooks. Both sides lost and together spent $400 million in campaign costs.
California Casino War Begins | Tribes Fire First Shot!
The anticipated casino war between tribal casinos and card casinos has begun in California. Yesterday, seven California tribes filed a lawsuit in the California Superior Court against 96 cardrooms and third-party proposition players (TPPP).
The fight is over "house-banked" gaming rights, which include blackjack, some poker, baccarat, and other Vegas-style table games. The tribes claim exclusive rights to all "house-banked" gaming in California based on voter-approved Proposition 1A in March 2000.
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California cardrooms sued by tribes over alleged illegal games - Courtesy of CBS News Sacramento, Jan 3, 2025. Available from YouTube
Gambling where players bet against the house is defined as Class III gaming by the U.S. Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Class II gaming is where players bet against other players.
The tribes claim cardrooms are state-licensed for Class II gaming only, but many of them are offering games, such as California Blackjack, which compete with their Class III gaming rights. The cardrooms use third-party proposition players (TPPP) at their table to act as a house bank.
On New Years Day a new California law went into effective that will decide which party is right. The law named the Tribal Nations Access to Justice Act allows the California Superior Court to determine if cardrooms using TPPPs are violating state gaming laws.
The seven California tribes that filed the lawsuit are listed below with their casinos:
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