Porn impresario Larry Flynt is suing the state of California to overturn a statute that prevents him from investing in out-of-state casino businesses.

On Wednesday, Flynt (pictured), who owns a pair of Gardena cardrooms – the Hustler Casino and Larry Flynt’s Lucky Lady Casino (the former Normandie Casino) – filed a civil lawsuit in federal court claiming the state’s gambling rules are unconstitutional.

The California Business and Professions Code 19858 prohibits state residents who hold cardroom licenses from investing in out-of-state entities that operate casino-style gambling, even if these casinos are located outside the United States.

The lawsuit (read it here) offers some backstory on the reasoning behind this prohibition, citing a 2001 report by an independent state oversight agency that examined the ownership limitations. The restriction was intended to “keep organized crime out of California” but the report concedes that crime would or would not be present “regardless of the ownership of the club.”