Huntington Beach, CA Gambling & Gaming: Card Room Licensing (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- HBMC Chapter 9.24, Gambling
- House rake
- Prohibited under § 9.24.060
- Entry fees to play
- Prohibited under § 9.24.070
- Exempt activity
- Bingo under Chapter 5.64, permitted nonprofit events
- Inspection right
- Open to on-duty police at all times
- Equipment seizure
- Authorized under Penal Code §§ 335, 335a
Summary
Huntington Beach bans commercial card rooms outright: Section 9.24.020 makes it unlawful to keep any place where non-exempt games are played for money, and Sections 9.24.060 through 9.24.080 block anyone from taking a cut, charging to play, or wagering another person's money in a card game, so no business can operate a for-profit card club under this code.
§ 9.24.020. Premises—Keeping. No person (either as principal, agent, employee or otherwise) shall keep, conduct or maintain in this City any house, room, apartment or place used in whole or in part as a place where any game not mentioned in Section 330 or 330a of the Penal Code of the State of California, is played, conducted, dealt, or carried on, with cards, dice, billiard balls, pool balls, cues or other devices, for money, checks, chips, credit or any other representative of value or for any merchandise or any other thing of value, except that bingo games may be conducted pursuant to Chapter 5.64 of this Code... § 9.24.060. Winnings—Accepting. It is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, lodge, club, association, church or any other group of persons to receive directly or indirectly anything of value from the playing or operation of any game of cards permitted by Section 9.24.050, other than the actual winnings to which a person playing such a game in good faith for him or herself alone may be entitled as the result of such game.
Full Breakdown
030 extends the same ban to anyone who knowingly permits their property to be used that way. 040 bars playing or betting at such a game at all. 050 then narrows the ban: a card game not listed in Penal Code Section 330 is not prohibited unless it runs afoul of the sections that follow. Those follow-on sections gut any commercial card-room model. 060 bars anyone, including a firm, club or church, from receiving anything of value from a card game beyond the actual winnings a player earns playing for themselves, meaning no house rake or seat fee is allowed.
080 bars wagering someone else's money or property. 110 lets designated officers under Penal Code Sections 335 and 335a seize any equipment used in violation, with seized cash deposited into the City's general fund. 130. 150.
Violations & Fines
Keeping a banked or fee-based card game, letting your property be used for one, taking a rake, charging an entry fee, or wagering another person's money are each independently unlawful under Sections 9.24.020 through 9.24.100. Chapter 9.24 sets no fine schedule of its own, so a violation defaults to Chapter 1.16: a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000.00 fine, or an infraction at the City Attorney's discretion, plus seizure of any equipment used in the game under Section 9.24.110.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you legally run a poker room or card club in Huntington Beach?
Is playing poker at home with friends illegal?
What happens if police find an illegal card game?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Huntington Beach
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