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

Huntington Park Municipal Code Title 5, Chapter 29 treats a card club as a licensed business that exists only at the City Council's discretion. Section 5-29.02(a) makes it unlawful to commence, conduct, or even purport to conduct a card business in the City of Huntington Park without a license, and § 5-29.12 ties the number of outstanding licenses to population: one for each 15,000 residents on the last available census. Once the cap is reached, § 5-29.02(b) bars the City Administrator from furnishing or processing applications.

An applicant files with the City Administrator under penalty of perjury. Section 5-29.03 requires financial statements for the applicant and every pointholder, partner, and officer (kept confidential), the number of tables, a description of the building, and a statement that no intoxicating liquor is served in the card playing area. The application fee is $100 per person identified, and a $20,000 license fee deposit is credited to the first installment of the initial license fee (§ 5-29.04). The initial fee is $40,000, paid in two $20,000 installments, followed by a quarterly fee of $20,000 due January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1, none of it refundable (§ 5-29.05). On top of that, § 5-29.06 charges 8% of gross revenue each quarter, reduced to 7% when more than one licensed club operates in the City, with a sworn statement prepared by a certified public accountant due within 30 days after quarter end.

The City Administrator has 90 days to report to the Council (§ 5-29.07). The Council gives at least 10 days' published notice and five days' mailed notice before it decides, and its decision is final (§ 5-29.08). A license expires by operation of law if the club does not open within one year (§ 5-29.11). Operating rules in § 5-29.15.1 allow hours up to 24 a day, require an annual patron security plan on or before March 1, and cap the City at 500 gaming tables with no more than 250 at any one licensed establishment. Section 5-29.22 permits only draw poker, panguingue, and low ball.