Monterey County, CA Gambling & Gaming: Card Room Licensing (2026)
Key Facts
- Licensing agency
- Monterey County Sheriff's Office
- Countywide table cap
- 15 total card tables, Section 11.24.070(D)
- Per-room limits
- 5 tables, 8 players per table
- Ante cap
- $20 total per hand
- Operating hours
- 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., later with security guard
- School/church buffer
- No license within 2,000 feet
Summary
Card rooms in unincorporated Monterey County need a Sheriff-issued license under County Code Section 11.24.040. The Card Room Ordinance caps the whole unincorporated county at fifteen tables, limits antes to twenty dollars, and restricts hours and locations to fight organized crime.
It is the purpose and intent of this Chapter to provide the orderly regulation of card rooms existing within the control of the institutions and locales which house such card rooms in the unincorporated areas of the County of Monterey so as to inhibit organized crime and other violations of law within the County of Monterey. ... No more than a total of fifteen (15) card tables shall be allowed in the unincorporated area of Monterey County. ... No card room shall be opened before six a.m. or after two a.m. except that on Saturday or Sunday, a card room may stay open during these hours if a licensed security guard is in attendance from twelve a.m. (midnight) until six a.m. ... Permit an ante in excess of twenty dollars ($20.00) total sum anted by all player participating in the game.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 56).
Full Breakdown
24, the Monterey County Card Room Ordinance (Ord. 020: regulating card rooms 'so as to inhibit organized crime and other violations of law' in the unincorporated county. 040 must submit photographs, fingerprints, and disclosure of any convictions in the prior five years for gambling, narcotics, felony, or moral turpitude offenses. 050(B). 050(F)(5)-(6). 070(D) caps the entire unincorporated county at fifteen card tables total. , except that a licensed security guard can keep the room open overnight on weekends. 080(B). 100.
Violations & Fines
Operating a card room in violation of the physical, operational or posting rules in Section 11.24.080 is unlawful. The chapter's own penalty section, 11.24.160, was repealed, so violations default to the Code's general penalty, Section 1.20.040: a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 and six months in jail. The Sheriff can also temporarily suspend a license for unlawful acts pending a Board of Supervisors hearing under Section 11.24.140.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many card rooms can operate in Monterey County?
Can a card room open near a school?
What games can be played at a licensed card room?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Monterey County
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