SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Tribal nations and casinos across California are now involved in a dispute over popular card games, House-banked Blackjack and Baccarat.
The House-banked games are among the biggest money makers for casinos and the dispute is for the right to host these games.
The Viejas Tribe has just helped file a lawsuit against casinos in California that are not on tribal land and hosting these games.
In San Diego, that would include Oceans 11 Casino in Oceanside and Seven Mile Casino in Chula Vista.
However, the lawsuit isn’t for money. The tribes just want casinos not on tribal land to stop offering House-banked Blackjack and Baccarat, arguing that it is taking millions of dollars away from tribal lands.
The casinos off tribal lands, like Ocean's 11, are pushing back because it would take away most of its business.
The dispute has been going on for years, but it reignited once again late last year when lawmakers pushed SB-549, known as the Tribal Nations Access to Justice Act, through the Senate.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law in September 2024, and Viejas Tribal Council Chairman John Christman said that was a win for California tribes 15 years in the making.
"This is our day in court," Chairman Christman said.
SB-549 essentially has given tribes across California the power to sue card rooms off tribal land for hosting House-banked Blackjack and Baccarat games.
House-banked games are when the house, or casino, takes the bet and pays if there’s a winning hand with its own money, not other players.
Chairman Christman, who resides over Viejas Panna Kuumeyay Indians, said the tribes were the ones to introduce these Class Three Las Vegas-style games into the state of California back in the early 2000s.
When that happened, it formed a compact between the state and tribes, giving the tribes 'exclusivity on these certain games'.
Then Chairman Christman said they found out about casinos, not on tribal lands, offering the games, and started pursuing legal action to put a stop to it.
“The compact was being violated," Christman said.
Now that SB-549 is law, The Viejas Tribe filed a lawsuit in January going after Ocean's 11 and Seven Mile here in San Diego.
Mark Kelegian, Managing Partner at Ocean's 11 Casino, is now fighting the lawsuit.
"They are simply trying to put us out of business," Kelegian said. "Our business is regulated by the [California] Department of Justice, and they set the rules for how we play our games."
Kelegian said his casino is not breaking any laws.
"We are playing our games absolutely 100% in compliance with the rules established by the Department of Justice," Kelegian said. "Our blackjack rules, approved by the California Department of Justice, have different elements to it that make it a completely different game. The same is true for Bacarrat. We would dispute that the tribe has any exclusivity over these games."
Kelegian said if the games were no longer allowed, his casino could lose millions.
"These games represent about 50 to 60% of our business," Kelegian said.
Chairman Christman believes that revenue rightfully belongs to the tribes.
"They are making funds that are illegal that should be ours, that could go into our education programs, our housing," Chairman Christman said.
Chairman Christman said the next part of this dispute will occur in Sacramento in April 2025.
At that time, a judge will decide whether local casinos can continue hosting the House-banked games or if they belong solely to the tribes.
Chairman Christman said it’s not their intention to bankrupt local casinos, and he knows there’s a chance they could lose in court.
"We're not looking for any monetary damage," Chairman Christman said. "We're looking for the game to stop."
