Riverside, CA Gambling & Gaming: Card Room Licensing (2026)
Key Facts
- Card house / gambling status
- Prohibited Use, all 21 zones
- Conditional permit available
- No
- Governing table
- Table 19.150.020.A
- Arcade gambling rule
- All forms of gambling prohibited
- Billiard/pool hall gambling rule
- All forms of gambling prohibited
- State authorizing ordinance adopted?
- No
Summary
Riverside's Zoning Code doesn't just decline to authorize card rooms -- it affirmatively zones gambling out of the entire city. Table 19.150.020.A marks 'Gambling (including Card house)' as a Prohibited Use across all 21 of the city's zoning districts, with no conditional-permit pathway offered anywhere.
Table 19.150.020 A. also identifies those uses that are specifically prohibited. Uses not listed in tables are prohibited unless the Community & Economic Development Department Director, or his/her designee, pursuant to Chapter 19.060 (Interpretation of Code), determines that the use is similar and no more detrimental than a listed permitted or conditional use. Any use which is prohibited by state and/or federal law is also strictly prohibited. ... Gambling (including Card house) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Prohibited Use
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 33).
Full Breakdown
020) governs every base zone in the city, from residential (RC, RA-5, RR, RE, R-1, R-3, R-4) through commercial (Office, Commercial Retail, Commercial General, Commercial Regional Center), Mixed-Use (MU-N, MU-V, MU-U), industrial (Business Manufacturing Park, General Industrial, Airport Industrial, Airport), and institutional zones (Public Facilities, Railroad, Neighborhood Commercial Overlay). The 'Gambling (including Card house)' row carries an 'X' in every one of those 21 columns and is additionally labeled 'Prohibited Use' in the table's remarks column -- a stronger designation than the 'C' or 'MC' symbols the same table uses elsewhere for uses that can seek a conditional use permit.
020's introductory text reinforces that uses not listed in the tables are prohibited unless a City official finds them similar to a listed use, and any use barred by state or federal law is strictly prohibited regardless. 245 require that 'any and all forms of gambling are prohibited' on those premises, and the billiard parlor/pool hall standards impose the identical prohibition. ) requires a city to affirmatively adopt an ordinance authorizing card rooms before one can operate; Riverside's Zoning Code contains no such authorizing ordinance and instead forecloses the use through its own permitted-use table.
Violations & Fines
Operating a card room or any gambling establishment anywhere in Riverside is a Zoning Code violation because the use has no permitted, minor-conditional, or conditional pathway in any of the 21 zoning districts listed in Table 19.150.020.A. Any permit purportedly issued for such a use would be void and without effect under Section 19.090.040 because it conflicts with the Zoning Code's express prohibition, and enforcement runs through the Police Department and Code Enforcement rather than a licensing process, since the City has adopted no card-room authorizing ordinance under the state Gambling Control Act.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are card rooms legal anywhere in Riverside?
Could the city allow a card room through a conditional use permit?
Does the ban extend to casual gambling at bars or arcades?
Has Riverside adopted a card-room authorizing ordinance under state law?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Riverside
California rules heatmap·Compare Riverside to another location·View the California gambling & gaming overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.
Card Room Licensing in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Riverside County handle card room licensing.