Bell Gardens and Commerce Pursue Sales Tax Adjustment Amid Cardroom Revenue Shortfalls

Two southeast Los Angeles County cities have moved forward with plans to ask voters for a modest sales tax increase while they grapple with projected shortfalls from the statewide shift in cardroom operations that began on April 1 2026 and Bell Gardens together with Commerce both declared fiscal emergencies after estimating substantial losses tied to the prohibition on banked blackjack-style games at their local cardrooms.

City leaders in both communities framed the 0.25 percentage point measure as a necessary step to protect core services and they scheduled the proposal for the June 2026 ballot so residents can decide whether to approve the adjustment before deeper cuts take hold.

Statewide Rules Prompt Local Budget Pressures

California’s new regulations ended the use of third-party player-dealers for banked blackjack-style games at cardrooms because those offerings fall under the exclusive domain of tribal casinos and the rules which received approval from the Office of Administrative Law after being advanced by Attorney General Rob Bonta require each cardroom to file a compliance plan by May 31 2026 outlining how operations will align with the updated standards.

Officials note that the change took effect April 1 2026 and already cardrooms have begun adjusting their game offerings which in turn reduces the revenue streams that previously flowed into municipal budgets through taxes and fees associated with those activities.

Declared Emergencies Highlight Service Risks

Bell Gardens officials warned that the city could lose roughly 40 percent of its general fund revenue because cardroom contributions had formed a major portion of ongoing income and without replacement funds the municipality faces the prospect of reduced staffing and program availability in police fire senior services and recreation departments.

Commerce leaders issued a similar declaration citing comparable dependence on cardroom activity and they emphasized that maintaining public safety alongside community programs would become difficult if the revenue gap remains unaddressed through the proposed tax measure.

Ballot Measure Details and Timeline

The 0.25 percentage point sales tax increase would generate funds dedicated to offsetting the losses and both cities have positioned the June 2026 vote as a direct response to the regulatory timeline that includes the May 31 2026 compliance deadline for cardrooms operating under the new framework.

Proponents of the measure point out that the increase remains modest yet they acknowledge it would still require broad voter support to pass and they have begun outreach efforts to explain how the additional revenue would stabilize budgets strained by the shift away from the previously permitted games.

Regulatory Background and Implementation Path

The regulations titled Regulations: Rotation of the Player-Dealer Position and Blackjack-Style Games (approved February 6 2026 effective April 1 2026) clarify that cardrooms must cease offering banked blackjack-style games and must instead focus on player-dealer formats that do not involve a house bank and city officials have referenced these guidelines when describing the speed of the revenue impact.

Local finance departments have started modeling different scenarios that incorporate the May 31 2026 compliance filings because those documents will determine exactly which games remain available and how quickly the associated tax collections decline.

Conclusion

Ballot preparations in Bell Gardens and Commerce continue to advance in parallel with the cardroom compliance process and both cities have scheduled public meetings to review detailed budget projections ahead of the June 2026 election while they monitor developments at the state level that could influence final revenue figures.