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

San Ramon regulates cardrooms concurrently with the state under the Gambling Control Act. Municipal Code Section B1-5 caps the total number of licensed cardrooms at the number produced by dividing the city's population, as determined by the city council, by twenty thousand; a later drop in that ratio does not invalidate an existing license. ) and bars licensing any game already prohibited by state statute. To open one, Section B1-11 requires an application showing a current state gaming registration certificate (or a sworn declaration that one is pending), the exact building and portion of the building to be used, the maximum number of card tables, the specific card games to be offered, an application fee set by council resolution, and a sworn statement accepting warrantless inspection by the police or fire chief.

Section B1-12 sends the application to a city council public hearing held between 12 and 30 days after filing. Section B1-4 lets the council exempt a nonprofit society, club, fraternal or labor organization whose cardroom serves only members free of charge. Section B1-6 makes any fire-safety violation involving the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District or Dougherty Regional Fire Authority a violation of the cardroom chapter itself.