Murrieta, CA Gambling & Gaming: Card Room Licensing (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- Murrieta Code Ch. 9.15
- Gaming clubs
- prohibited in all zoning districts
- Legalization path
- requires a citywide voter initiative
- Unlawful gaming penalty
- up to $500 fine, 6 months jail
- Property owner liability
- yes, if knowingly permitted
- Adopted
- Ord. 333 § 2, 2005
Summary
Murrieta bans gaming clubs, the local term for card rooms, outright in every zoning district, and separately criminalizes running or knowingly permitting any unauthorized house-banked or commercial card game anywhere in the city.
9.15.020 Prohibition. Gaming clubs are prohibited within all zoning districts within the city of Murrieta. ... 9.15.040 Applications prohibited. No application to establish or operate a gaming club in the city shall be accepted or processed unless and until the electors of the city affirmatively propose and approve an initiative measure in accord with California law permitting legal gambling within the city.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-23: A Codification of the General Ordinances of the City of Murrieta, California through Ord. 634-26, passed 7-7-2026).
Full Breakdown
020: gaming clubs are prohibited within all zoning districts within the city of Murrieta. 5, which bar a city from permitting gaming clubs unless it did so before 1984 or its electors approved a ballot measure legalizing gambling. 040 reinforces this by barring the city from accepting or processing any application to establish or operate a gaming club unless Murrieta voters first pass an initiative authorizing legal gambling. 050 criminalizes operating, for profit or anything of value, any house, room, apartment, dwelling, or other place where card, dice, or other gambling games not exempted by Penal Code Sections 330 or 330A are played, punishable as a misdemeanor. 050 penalty.
Violations & Fines
Operating, permitting, or betting at a prohibited gaming club or unlawful card game is a misdemeanor under Section 9.15.050, punishable by a fine of not more than $500, imprisonment in county jail for up to six months, or both; property owners who knowingly allow it face the same penalty under Section 9.15.060.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a card room or gaming club open anywhere in Murrieta?
What is the penalty for running an illegal card game in Murrieta?
Is a property owner liable if illegal gambling happens on their premises in Murrieta?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Murrieta
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