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

Porterville Municipal Code § 15-5.B requires a business license for anyone who conducts, operates or carries on a card room, and § 15-20.A layers on detailed local controls adopted concurrently with the state of California under the Gambling Control Act (Business and Professions Code, division 8, chapter 5). Each card table gets its own license naming the table number and location, with a visible metal ID tag; a table cannot move to a new spot without city council approval.

The city caps the industry numerically: no more than three card tables per establishment, no more than nine tables total in Porterville, and no more than three establishments operating tables citywide. Play stops entirely between 2:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., and it is unlawful to deal, play or have charge of any table during those hours. A maximum of ten hands may be dealt at a table absent a chief-of-police finding of necessity, and every establishment must post its minimum buy-in and wagering limits, filing a sworn declaration of those limits and its current house rules with the chief of police every year by July 1.

Every card room must have a security plan approved by the chief of police, covering patron safety and the physical layout of the gambling area and parking lot; that security information stays confidential. Outside doors and the main gaming-room doors must stay unlocked and open to the public during operating hours, and the premises are open to police inspection at any time play is underway.

Dealers and employees need their own chief-of-police permit, backed by a DOJ fingerprint background check, and the chief must deny a permit for a felony conviction, a moral-turpitude misdemeanor within the last ten years, ties to organized crime, or an applicant under 21. No card room license issues at all unless the city council finds the location suitable.