Fullerton, CA Gambling & Gaming: Card Room Licensing (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- FMC Chapter 7.130
- Offense level
- Misdemeanor (§ 7.130.010)
- Local card room permit
- None issued
- Exception
- Licensed bingo under FMC 7.34/7.35 only
- Enforcement
- Chief of Police destroys seized devices
- Adopted
- Ord. 2447, 1982; amended Ord. 2783, 1991
Summary
Fullerton outlaws commercial card rooms outright. FMC § 7.130.010 makes it a misdemeanor to keep, operate or maintain any house, room or premises where card or dice games are played for profit, a fee, or any commercial purpose, unless the specific game is already regulated under Cal. Penal Code §§ 330 or 330a. The city issues no license for a for-profit card room.
(A) Every person, firm, corporation or association who, for profit, or for anything of value or for commercial purpose of any nature, keeps, operates, conducts or maintains, either directly or indirectly, within the city any house, room, apartment, dwelling place, building, premises or other place where any game, gambling or gaming not mentioned or included in Cal. Penal Code §§ 330 or 330a is played, conducted, dealt or carried on, whether with cards, dice or any other device of whatsoever nature, for money, checks, credit, merchandise or other representative of value shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. (B) ... who imposes or collects a fee or anything of value for the privilege of participating in any way whatsoever in any such games, gambling or gaming, or who directly or indirectly gains or receives anything of value or any financial profit from playing, conducting or dealing of any such games, gambling or gaming shall ... be deemed to be keeping, conducting, operating and maintaining the same for profit or commercial purposes.
Full Breakdown
130 ("Gambling"), adopted by Ord. 2447 in 1982 and amended by Ord. 2783 in 1991, is Fullerton's local gambling code. 010(A) makes it a misdemeanor for any person, firm, corporation or association to keep, operate, conduct or maintain, directly or indirectly, any house, room, apartment, building or other place where card or dice games not already covered by Cal. Penal Code §§ 330 or 330a are played for money, checks, credit or merchandise. Subsection (B) closes the obvious workaround: anyone who imposes or collects a fee for the privilege of participating, or who otherwise profits from dealing or conducting the game, is deemed to be running it for profit even if they do not own the premises, which is precisely how a rake-based card room operates.
100 bars paying anything of value for the privilege of joining a draw poker game. 35 are not touched by this chapter. 080 directs the Chief of Police to destroy them once a conviction or guilty plea becomes final, with any seized cash deposited into the city's General Fund.
Violations & Fines
Operating, permitting, or participating in a for-profit card or dice game is a misdemeanor under §§ 7.130.010 and 7.130.030. Anyone who charges a fee to join a game, or who lets premises be used for one, faces the same misdemeanor exposure under §§ 7.130.050 and 7.130.120. Devices and furnishings tied to the game are seized as nuisances under §§ 7.130.070, 7.130.080 and 7.130.130; the Chief of Police destroys them after conviction, and seized money goes to the city's General Fund rather than back to the operator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I open a card room or poker club in Fullerton?
What counts as "for profit" under the ordinance?
Are charity bingo nights exempt from this ban?
What happens to cards, chips and tables seized from an illegal game?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fullerton
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