Merced, CA Gambling & Gaming: Card Room Licensing (2026)
Key Facts
- Allowed zones
- C-C, C-T, General Commercial only
- Citywide cardroom cap
- 2 licensed cardrooms
- Citywide table cap
- 12 card tables
- Max tables per room at once
- 6 tables operating
- Expanding cardrooms/cap
- Requires majority voter approval
Summary
Merced Municipal Code Section 9.08.020 confines cardrooms to Central Commercial, Commercial Thoroughfare, and General Commercial zones, caps the city at two licensed cardrooms and twelve total card tables, and requires voter approval to add more cardrooms or exceed the table cap.
A.Cardrooms in the City of Merced may only be located in areas zoned as follows:1.Central Commercial (C-C);2.Commercial Thoroughfare (C-T);3.General Commercial (C-G). ... D.As of April 18, 2016, there are two cardrooms authorized to operate within the City of Merced, each of which may operate four (4) card tables. There shall be no increase in the existing number of cardrooms without the approval of a majority of the voters of the city.E.The City of Merced hereby increases the number of authorized card tables to be operated within the city from eight (8) card tables to twelve (12) card tables. There shall be no increase in the number of card tables to be operated beyond twelve (12) card tables without the approval of a majority of the voters of the city.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 85 - 1-26).
Full Breakdown
08, Gaming. Subsection (A) restricts cardrooms to three zoning districts: Central Commercial (C-C), Commercial Thoroughfare (C-T), and General Commercial (C-G). citywide, except that a licensed cardroom in a C-T or C-C zone may run twenty-four hours a day. Subsection (C) makes the cardroom operator responsible for patron security, with guards required 'in such number and at such times as directed by the chief of police' or by conditional use permit. Subsection (D) locks the city at 'two cardrooms authorized to operate,' each originally limited to four card tables, and bars any increase in the number of cardrooms without majority voter approval.
Subsection (E) raised the citywide table cap from eight to twelve, again with voter approval required to go higher. Under subsection (F), an operator wanting more than its original four tables must first get a conditional use permit, capped at two additional tables per cardroom and a hard limit of six tables operating at any one time; idle tables must be covered and marked 'This table is not in operation' with letters at least six inches tall. Subsection (G) names the two existing operators by conditional use permit number, and subsection (I) sets no wager limit but requires posted rules and limits at every table.
Violations & Fines
Operating a cardroom outside the permitted commercial zones, running games between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. without the C-T/C-C 24-hour exception, exceeding the six-tables-in-operation limit, or adding a cardroom or exceeding twelve citywide tables without voter approval violates Section 9.08.020. Related gaming misconduct is prosecuted under Chapter 9.08's other sections, and general Chapter 9.08 violations are misdemeanors punishable under Chapter 1.12 of the Merced Municipal Code.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cardrooms can operate in Merced?
Can a Merced cardroom stay open 24 hours?
How many card tables can one Merced cardroom run?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Merced
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