Kern County, CA Gambling & Gaming: Card Room Licensing (2026)
Key Facts
- Countywide table cap
- 90 card tables total, 45 per room
- Initial/annual license fee
- $1,000 per cardroom
- Cardroom-to-cardroom spacing
- 200 feet minimum
- School/church/hospital buffer
- 600 feet
- Players per table
- 10 maximum
- Work permit fee
- $100 initial, $75 renewal
Summary
Anyone running a cardroom in unincorporated Kern County must hold a sheriff's vice-division license under Chapter 5.20, capped countywide at 90 card tables and 45 tables per room, with cardrooms barred within 200 feet of each other and 600 feet of a school, church, hospital or playground.
No person, firm or corporation shall engage in, carry on, maintain, conduct or cause to be engaged in, carried on, maintained or conducted any cardroom in any public place in the county without first having secured a license from the vice division of the county sheriff's office in accordance with the requirements of this chapter, nor without complying with the regulations contained herein pertaining to the operation of cardrooms.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 59 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
). 070 lets the sheriff deny a license for incomplete or false applications, disqualifying convictions for gambling, larceny, perjury, bribery, extortion or fraud, a license revoked within the past five years, noncompliance with health, zoning or fire codes, or a location that is wholly residential or within 600 feet of a public school, church, hospital or children's playground. 090, the initial and annual license fee is $1,000 per cardroom, plus a per-table annual fee ranging from $750 for rooms with three or fewer tables up to $5,000 per table for rooms with 31 to 45 tables.
110 caps the countywide total at 90 tables and 45 per room, bars a cardroom within 200 feet of another or on an adjoining parcel, limits games to ten players per table, bars minors, requires posted rules and fee schedules, and lets cardrooms operate 24 hours a day. 120 ($100 fee, $75 renewal), denied to anyone with a disqualifying conviction or a permit revoked in the past five years. 140 are appealable to a sheriff-designated hearing officer.
Violations & Fines
The sheriff's vice division can suspend a cardroom license for up to 30 days, or summarily suspend it immediately if continued operation poses an imminent danger to public welfare, under Sections 5.20.130 and 5.20.140. Operating after a summary suspension is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine, six months in county jail, or both. A licensee has five business days to request a hearing before a suspension becomes final.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cardrooms can operate in unincorporated Kern County?
How much does a Kern County cardroom license cost?
Can a cardroom be built next to a school in Kern County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kern County
California rules heatmap·Compare Kern County to another location·View the California gambling & gaming overview
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