Cardclubs have existed in California as long as there has been a state. State law neither specifically authorized nor prohibits these. California's gambling statutes prohibit certain types of gaming, rather than authorizing certain types of gaming. Cardclubs are legal because they have not been specifically prohibited. But only those games not prohibited can be played in cardrooms. A number of us collect chips from California cardrooms and have hundreds or in some cases thousands of examples of the chips.