We have some odd and potentially troubling poker news coming out of California.
Nothing is set in stone yet, but the Bureau of Gambling Control in the US’s most populous state is planning on making it mandatory for each player to take turns taking on the role of the banker while playing cards in a casino.
Can Crazy New Rule Ruin Poker in California?
Last week, a thread blew up on the famous Two Plus Two forum.
The original post links to a Los Angeles Times article about the proposed new gambling rules in California.
The state Bureau of Gambling Control has proposed new rules for California’s card rooms.
“If these regulations were adopted as proposed, they would kill the card room industry and devastate dozens of communities,” the California Gaming Association says. https://t.co/ArZjQxx4dg
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) December 6, 2019
As one might imagine, the poker fans were not happy upon reading it. However, later some users pointed out that this will probably not have any effect on poker whatsoever.
The first responders to the OP took it as horrible poker news. So-called “self-dealt” poker tournaments are common in Belgium. However, they are not mandatory.
Therefore it was reasonable that they thought amateur players would have to deal hands at the poker table, but they were soon corrected.
Some pointed out the exact wording in the proposed new rule is “banker” not “dealer”. Thus this would be applicable to only table games in which you play against the house.
What makes it more confusing is that the LA Times article specifically mentions poker – however, to be exact, 7-Card Stud poker. Some casinos around the world offer a different version of Stud poker where the players do play against the house, not each other.
The entire reasoning behind the proposed rule change is to prevent the house from having a financial stake in the game they’re hosting. So far, casinos employed a 3rd party licenced dealer to deal the hands in table games. However, it seems that that solution may not be good enough anymore.
Despite poker fans understanding that it will not affect their game, they’re not happy about it. Nor are many in the California gambling industry who decided to speak up.
California Gambling Industry Workers Protest New Rule
The casino workers in California fear that requiring players to deal the hands themselves is likely going to ruin their gaming experience. Firstly, the experience of the player who now has to effectively work while they’re playing in a casino. Please note that the proposed new rule dictates that anyone who refuses to take on the role of the banker has to be excluded from the game.
Secondly, if a casual player has to pick up the deck who may not be very familiar with the rules, it ruins the game for everyone.
For these reasons, casino workers fear that they would lose a lot of traffic. The tribal casinos in California as well as casinos in the neighboring Nevada wouldn’t have to comply with this regulation. The Cali gamblers could simply choose to go there instead of their local gambling hubs.
The California Gaming Assn. trade group released a statement, saying:
“If these regulations were adopted as proposed, they would kill the card room industry and devastate dozens of communities and thousands of working California families across the state. This proposal is 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.”
The California Bureau of Gambling Control is holding a hearing on the issue on December 18th. All the opponents of the new rule proposal can make their best cases there.
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