Elk Grove, CA Gambling & Gaming: Card Room Licensing (2026)
Key Facts
- License cap
- 1 cardroom per 75,000 residents
- Residency requirement
- 2 years (owner) before applying
- Cardrooms per license
- 1 max, 1 per structure
- Must be operating within
- 90 days of issuance
- Excluded from "gaming"
- Bingo, lottery, home card games
Summary
Elk Grove permits cardrooms only under a special business license capped at one for every 75,000 residents. Owners must have two years of City residency or local business operation before applying, and a licensed cardroom must open within 90 days or the Chief of Police can revoke it.
No person shall operate or conduct a cardroom in the City unless under and by authority of a valid, unexpired, and unrevoked special business license authorizing a cardroom issued pursuant to the provisions of EGMC Chapter 4.10 and this chapter. ... The number of licenses issued shall be limited to one (1) for each seventy-five thousand (75,000) residents, or fraction thereof, of the City, as determined by the last Federal census or as determined by the latest population estimate of the Department of Finance of the State of California.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4937385; v2 updated 2026-05-13; through 05-13-2026).
Full Breakdown
Elk Grove permits cardrooms but tightly rations them. EGMC Section 4.20.015 requires a special business license before anyone can operate a cardroom, defined in EGMC Section 4.20.005 as "any place where gaming is conducted and to which the public is invited to participate." EGMC Section 4.20.025(A) caps the number of licenses at one for every 75,000 residents, based on the latest federal census or California Department of Finance estimate, and Section 4.20.025(C) limits any single licensee to one cardroom and one license, with no more than one cardroom per structure or location.
Applicants face a residency screen not required of most other licensed businesses: a sole proprietor must have lived in Elk Grove for at least two years before applying, and a partnership or corporation must have operated a business in the City continuously for two years, in addition to meeting the state Gaming Registration Act requirements starting at Business and Professions Code Section 19800 (EGMC 4.20.020(A)). A licensed cardroom must be placed in actual operation within 90 days of issuance and stay in use for the license term or the Chief of Police can revoke it, though good-faith remodeling closures do not count against that clock (EGMC 4.20.020(B)).
Cardroom managers and dealers need their own employee permits under EGMC Section 4.20.030, and bingo, state lottery games, parimutuel horse racing, and private in-home card games with no house cut are expressly carved out of the definition of regulated "gaming" (EGMC 4.20.010(B)).
Violations & Fines
Operating a cardroom without the special business license required by EGMC Section 4.20.015 is enforceable as a misdemeanor after written notice, since that section is on the misdemeanor list in EGMC Section 4.02.140. A license can be revoked for failing to place the cardroom into actual operation within 90 days, exceeding the one-cardroom-per-license cap, or violating the Gaming Registration Act screening standards in EGMC Section 4.20.020.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cardrooms can operate in Elk Grove?
Do I need to live in Elk Grove to open a cardroom there?
Are home poker games illegal in Elk Grove?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Elk Grove
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