Santa Barbara County, CA Gambling & Gaming: Card Room Licensing (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing law
- County Code Ch. 6, Art. IV, Sec. 6-29
- Rule
- Card-game business for hire is unlawful
- Geographic scope
- Unincorporated area only
- Penalty basis
- General penalty, Sec. 1-7
- Maximum fine/jail
- $500 fine and/or 6 months jail
- Continuing violation
- Each day is a separate offense
Summary
Santa Barbara County bans the card-room business outright: no one may operate or engage in the business of running card games or card tables for hire or consideration anywhere in the unincorporated county. County Code Sec. 6-29 makes it unlawful, full stop, with no permit path in the ordinance.
It shall be unlawful, in the unincorporated area of the county, to operate or engage in the business of conducting or operating card games or card tables for hire or for a consideration.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 44 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 6, Article IV of the County Code, adopted by Ordinance No. 1077, prohibits the commercial card-room business in the unincorporated area of Santa Barbara County. The single operative section, Sec. 6-29, does not license, tax, or condition card games for hire; it declares the business unlawful outright, distinguishing the county from California cities that have adopted authorizing ordinances under the Gambling Control Act, Business and Professions Code Sec. 19960 et seq., to permit regulated card rooms. Because Article IV carries no dedicated penalty clause, enforcement falls to the Code's general penalty provision, Sec. 1-7, which applies whenever an ordinance declares an act unlawful without specifying its own punishment. This provision governs only the unincorporated county; card rooms inside Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Lompoc, Goleta, Carpinteria, or Buellton would be regulated, if at all, under each city's own municipal code and any local Gambling Control Act ordinance those cities have separately adopted.
Violations & Fines
Operating or engaging in a card-room business for hire violates Sec. 6-29 and, because the article sets no specific punishment, is enforced under the Code's general penalty, Sec. 1-7: a fine of up to five hundred dollars, imprisonment in county jail for up to six months, or both. Each day the business continues to operate is treated as a separate offense under Sec. 1-7's continuing-violation clause.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a business legally run a card room in unincorporated Santa Barbara County?
What is the penalty for running an illegal card room in the county?
Does the ban apply inside the City of Santa Barbara?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Barbara County
California rules heatmap·Compare Santa Barbara County to another location·View the California gambling & gaming overview
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