Corona, CA Gambling & Gaming: Card Room Licensing (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- § 9.12.010
- Card rooms/poker for money
- Banned citywide
- Exception
- State-regulated bingo (Ch. 5.12)
- Exception
- Controlled-game fundraisers (Ch. 5.13)
- Default penalty
- Misdemeanor, up to $1,000/6 months
- Adopted
- 1976, amended 2007
Summary
Corona bans card rooms and cash poker outright. Section 9.12.010 makes it unlawful for anyone to run or allow draw poker or any other gambling game for money or anything of value, with no local licensing path around the ban. The only carve-outs are state-regulated bingo and controlled-game fundraisers.
No person shall engage in, conduct or allow the playing of, for money or any other thing of value, the game of draw poker or other gambling game not otherwise prohibited by the state. Nothing in this section shall prevent the playing of bingo, subject to the conditions and restrictions of California law and Chapter 5.12 or fundraisers using controlled games as a funding mechanism, subject to the conditions and restrictions of California law and Chapter 5.13.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025 S-56: Supplement contains: Local legislation passed through Ord. 3423, passed 12-3-2025).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 9.12 is a single section, and it does the opposite of authorizing a card room: § 9.12.010 makes it unlawful for any person to engage in, conduct, or allow the playing of draw poker or any other gambling game not otherwise prohibited by the state, when played for money or anything of value. Because California's Gambling Control Act (Bus. & Prof. Code § 19960 et seq.) requires a city to adopt its own authorizing ordinance before a licensed card room can operate within its limits, Corona's blanket prohibition means no card room, poker club, or casino-style card game can lawfully open here regardless of any state gambling license the operator holds elsewhere.
The ordinance carves out exactly two categories: bingo games run under the conditions and restrictions of state law and Chapter 5.12 of the Corona Municipal Code, and fundraisers that use state-regulated controlled games as a financing mechanism under Chapter 5.13. Both exceptions are narrow and tied to nonprofit or charitable fundraising activity, not commercial card rooms. The section traces back to Ordinance 1446 in 1976 and was last amended by Ordinance 2876 in 2007, which added the controlled-games fundraiser carve-out; the underlying prohibition on draw poker and gambling games for money has stood since the 1978 Code.
Violations & Fines
A violation of Chapter 9.12 falls back to the code's general penalty in §1.08.020: absent a specific penalty, any act the Municipal Code makes unlawful is a misdemeanor, and §1.08.025 sets that misdemeanor penalty at up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, with each day of a continuing violation counted as its own offense. The city can also pursue an illegal card game as a public nuisance and seek abatement and cost recovery.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a card room open in Corona with a state gambling license?
Is home poker night illegal in Corona?
Does Corona allow charity poker fundraisers?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Corona
California rules heatmap·Compare Corona to another location·View the California gambling & gaming overview
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Card Room Licensing in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Riverside County handle card room licensing.