California’s Bureau of Gambling Control (BGC) recently sent a memo to all its cardrooms warning that holding ladies-only tournaments that exclude men “may violate California’s anti-discrimination laws.”
This won’t stop ladies events from being run, but it does serve as a reminder that although an event may be branded as a ladies event, men must be allowed to enter if they want. No longer will the words “ladies only” be used to advertise the events, but casinos will still use language that implies it’s a tournament held for women. The ads will also carry the disclaimer that the tournament is open to everyone.
Not being able to prohibit men in tournaments is something that both the CEO of the Ladies International Poker Series (LIPS) Lupe Soto and the World Poker Tour, which just launched a ladies-branded tour, were aware of before starting their tours.
And men have crashed ladies tournaments in the past. In September, former Major League Baseballer Jose Canseco and a few of his friends entered the ladies event at the California State Poker Championship. Phil Gordon and crew did the same thing years before.
The WPT, aware of the Unruh Act, launched without using the words “ladies-only” in its promotional materials and knew that there was a chance that men would show up to play in its events.
Since 2004, when LIPS first started holding its ladies events, Soto says fewer than 10 men have entered its events. She also said that it is possible men were turned away from some events by casino staff who didn’t know the law.
“That is the spirit of what we’re trying to do; we’re trying to bring more women into the market and get them to the point where they are feeling comfortable and to a level where they feel they could beat an open event without a problem,” Lupe said. “We’ll continue to have women events, but they’re going to be available to men, as well.”
Casinos in Nevada also may not turn away men who want to play in ladies events.
The 1959 discrimination law that California’s BGC refers to is called the Unruh Civil Rights Act. Allyn Jaffrey Shulman, Card Player’s legal expert, emphasized that California’s BGC even said that ladies-only event may violate the Act. This is what she had to say about the Act:
“The Act was intended to protect groups of people being discriminated against by business establishments. The original wording of the act provided that ‘all persons … are free and equal and no matter what their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, or medical condition are entitled to full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever,'” she said. “This law was enacted at a time when discrimination was fierce and laws were needed in order to force society to behave properly. As time went on, the Unruh Act became more sophisticated and complex.”
As far as being discriminatory, Shulman isn’t so sure ladies events qualify.
“We have women’s tennis, basketball, golf, and other women-only activities. No one thinks that amounts to discrimination, nor does the law makes it so. Because many women are newcomers to the game of poker, it makes sense to have women’s only poker tournaments,” she said. “To analyze the issue as one of discrimination is silly, because discrimination laws exist to make sure that people are treated fairly. In my opinion, no one is being treated unfairly when women want to get together, play a little poker, wear a pin that looks like big red lips, and have a good ol’ time.”
