The societal impact on Native Americas who rely on their exclusive monopoly rights to poker gambling to raise capital is proving to be an extremely divisive and contentious issue. The bill falters after 2 years in the state house as lawmakers fail to agree on details of the new regulation. This ultimately has been further bolstered by the pending bill SB1485 to fully legalize the popular card game. The heartstrings were targeted in 2007 as gambling legalization advocates rammed through an agreement that made poker games raising money for charitable causes exempt from federal legal blocks. In 2001 the first land-based casinos were established in the state, all of which were exclusively owned by Native Americans.
The turn of the century saw a shift in political attitudes, shifting from a deeply liberal agenda toward a conservative policy of granting Native American communities an exclusive monopoly on land-based casinos. Formalizing these into a legal framework gave legitimacy to gaming entities that had existed since the gold rush. California Casino Laws History and Facts YearĬalifornia takes steps to legislate the vibrant card rooms industry which up until 1984 had largely been in a legal grey area.
