(FOX40.COM) — California cardrooms can continue to offer blackjack and other popular table games after a court ruled Tuesday that Attorney General Rob Bonta’s Department of Justice did not have the authority to adopt two controversial regulations.

The California DOJ’s Bureau of Gambling Control announced those new rules in February, barring cardrooms from offering blackjack and other player-dealer games — a move opponents said would devastate the industry. The California Gaming Association and two cardroom groups filed lawsuits seeking to block the changes, which would have otherwise taken effect this month.

Under one of the two new rules, cardrooms cannot offer blackjack, the world’s most popular casino card game. Players would no longer “bust” by exceeding 21 points, and cardrooms may not use the name “blackjack” or include the number 21.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Darwin issued his decision from the bench on Tuesday, blocking those regulations and delivering a win for the cardroom industry. The parties are expected to meet in court again next week, and the judge will issue the full ruling.

The California Gaming Association celebrated the decision, saying it affirms that the gambling bureau’s authority is limited to enforcing laws, not creating new ones. Association president Kyle Kirkland said in a statement that the judge delivered a “clear answer.”

“The court’s ruling is a lifeline for communities across California,” he said. “If these regulations had been allowed to stand, the consequences would have been devastating for working families, local businesses and the cities that rely on cardroom revenues to fund police, parks, libraries, youth programs, and other essential services.”

Kirkland also again slammed the regulations as policies designed to benefit “a handful of powerful gaming tribes” at the expense of cardrooms and accused the Bureau of Gambling Control of rewriting the law for political reasons.

A spokesperson for Bonta told FOX40 in a statement that the attorney general’s office is “disappointed in today’s ruling but are reviewing our options and will respond appropriately.” Bonta has not publicly commented on the regulations, which his office first proposed last year.

The California Nations Indian Gaming Association, which supports the DOJ’s new regulations, did not respond to a request for comment.