Gaming Law Forces Cruise Line to Scuttle Catalina Stop : Business: Avalon officials fear that legislation will mean loss of $1.5 million in tourism next year. Another cruise ship company will continue to dock on the island.

One cruise ship line has canceled a port call at Catalina Island because of a new state anti-gambling law that goes into effect Jan. 1, but a second said it will continue to drop anchor in Avalon, at least for now, city officials said.

Catalina Chamber of Commerce officials complain that the cancellation will mean a loss of $1.5 million in tourist dollars next year if the new law isn’t amended to exempt cruise ships. Casino gambling, they noted, is usually part of the package offered by holiday cruise ships that often dock in Avalon harbor.

The chamber and the city of Avalon have joined other California port cities in a lobbying effort to get the state Legislature to change the law.

The new law, aimed at blocking the establishment of floating casinos in federal waters off the coast, specifically outlaws gambling on any ship sailing in and out of California ports. That includes the cruise liners that drop anchor in Avalon harbor every Tuesday and Saturday, law enforcement officials say.

“Cruise ships that operate gambling casinos on the way out to Catalina from Los Angeles are breaking the law,” said David Puglia, a spokesman for the state attorney general’s office.

Shipboard gambling in state waters is illegal, but for years law enforcement officials haven’t bothered cruise lines that stop in Avalon as part of a package trip from Los Angeles to Ensenada, Mexico.

The issue came up because Congress passed a controversial law last year making it legal to gamble on U.S.-flag ships in international waters. The new federal law allows states to ban gambling in local waters.

Rather than lose gambling profits, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, operators of the 1,500-passenger Viking Serenade, has suspended the vessel’s Saturday stop in Avalon, according to Wayne Griffin, manager of the island chamber. The ship will still anchor off Avalon harbor on Tuesdays, but its casinos will be closed, he said.

“So we’ve only lost one stop, but even that’s costly. We estimate we’ll lose $1.5 million a year,” Griffin said. The chamber calculates that the average tourist coming ashore for the day in Avalon spends about $25 in local shops and restaurants.

Avalon also stands to lose about $80,000 in annual wharfage fees, City Manager Chuck Prince said. The fees, he said, are a critical part of the city’s budget because they finance the troubled municipal hospital, the island’s only medical facility.

“We were delighted that Norwegian Cruise Lines’ ship Southward will continue to make Avalon a port of call twice weekly,” Prince said. The Southward’s casino will be closed during its run to Catalina.

An amendment being proposed by the cities would specifically exempt cruise ships that are at sea three days or more and stop for six hours or more in any port along the way.