Downey, CA Gambling & Gaming: Card Room Licensing (2026)

The City of Downey licenses card rooms and card schools under Part 8 of Chapter 5 of its Municipal Code, adopted by Ordinance 250 in 1964. Section 6576 makes it unlawful to maintain, operate or conduct any card room or card school without a City permit, and voids any permit that would authorize a card game the state Penal Code or another city ordinance prohibits. Nonprofit organizations already operating in Downey for at least two years before the ordinance's adoption, and card rooms or schools run by a government agency, are exempt from the permit requirement.

Applicants must go beyond the City's standard business-permit application (§6400 et seq.) to disclose, under §6577, the names of anyone owning more than 20 percent of a corporate applicant's stock, every partner in a partnership, every member of an association, and the location of any other card room or card school in which the applicant or a signer has an interest. Permits are tied to one location and cannot be transferred: §6578 provides that a sale or transfer of the business automatically revokes the card room permit, forcing the new owner to apply from scratch, and even the same permittee must pay the Chief of Police a $15 fee and obtain written consent before moving the operation to another address.

Section 6579's operating rules fix playing hours at 10:00 a.m. to midnight, ban music or dancing, prohibit possessing, selling or consuming alcoholic liquor on the premises, and bar anyone under 21 from being present or playing. Only card tables, cards and scoring devices are allowed; no other gambling or amusement equipment may be kept in the room, and membership dues, playing fees and food or refreshment prices must be posted conspicuously in every room of the establishment.