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Federal law, tribal-state compacts and the casino resorts run by California's tribal nations.
A 1988 federal law, written after a Supreme Court loss for California, still decides which casino games tribes may offer and on what terms.
Photograph by Beethoven via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
A 2000 constitutional amendment lets tribes run full casinos, but only under a compact that the governor signs, lawmakers ratify and Washington…
Sept. 19, 2026
Every Nevada-style casino in California belongs to a tribe; here is where the biggest resorts sit, who owns them and what to check before visiting.
