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

Heavy Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified August 2026

Key Facts

Core prohibition
VMC Sec. 7.72.010, cards/dice for money
Gaming machines
Slot, pinball, marble machines banned
Fraternal exception
Police-chief license, members-only, no ads
Restaurant exception
Excludes card games specifically
Adopted
Ordinance 106 N.C. (2d), 1972

Summary

Vallejo Municipal Code Section 7.72.010 bans dealing, playing, or betting at any card, dice, or dominoes game where chance determines the outcome and money or anything of value is at stake, anywhere in the city. Gambling houses and gaming machines are separately banned, with only narrow social, fraternal-license, and licensed-bingo exceptions.

No person shall deal, operate, attend, play, or bet at of against any game as the result of which game chance is any determining factor, which game is played, conducted, dealt, or carried on with cards, dice, dominoes, or other device, for money, chips, checks, credit, or any representative of value, at, in, upon or about private or public property, or in any house, room, apartment, or place, except as set forth in Section 7.72.080.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Update 12 - 25).

Full Breakdown

C. 72 bans card-room-style gambling for money throughout Vallejo, not just in commercial card rooms but in any "house, room, apartment, or place," public or private. 030 separately makes it unlawful to keep, conduct, or maintain a gambling house, though it carves "cards" in that section to exclude bridge and whist. 060 bars soliciting others to visit one. 070 separately prohibits owning or possessing a slot machine, pinball machine, marble machine, or similar device on which money can be won or lost by chance. 60.

There is no path in the code for a commercial card room or poker room to obtain a Vallejo license: a state Gambling Control Act applicant would still need a local authorizing ordinance the city has not adopted.

Violations & Fines

Dealing, playing, or betting at a prohibited card, dice, or dominoes game, maintaining or permitting a gambling house, possessing a slot or pinball machine, or soliciting visits to an illegal gambling location are each separate violations of Chapter 7.72, prosecutable under the city's general penalty provisions in Chapter 1.12. Barring police access to a gambling room under Section 7.72.020 is a separately chargeable offense.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a commercial card room operate legally in Vallejo?
No. Vallejo Municipal Code Section 7.72.010 bans dealing, operating, or playing any card, dice, or dominoes game for money anywhere in the city, and Section 7.72.080's restaurant exception specifically excludes card games, leaving no path for a for-profit card room to open without the city first adopting a local authorizing ordinance, which it has not done.
Can a nonprofit club run a card game in Vallejo?
Only with a police-chief-issued license under Section 7.72.080(B), available to fraternal, labor, benevolent, charitable, or religious organizations active in Vallejo for at least two years. The game room must be members-only with no public advertising and a paid attendant present, and it authorizes only games "not in conflict with any state law," not the card games banned by Section 7.72.010.
Is bingo covered by Vallejo's gambling ban?
No. Section 7.72.080(C) exempts bingo games conducted in accordance with Chapter 5.60 of the Vallejo Municipal Code from the Chapter 7.72 gambling prohibitions, so a properly licensed bingo game under that separate chapter does not violate the card and dice game ban.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Vallejo

Trash & Recycling: Recycling RulesSome RestrictionsNoise Ordinances: Construction HoursSome RestrictionsParking Rules: EV ChargingSome RestrictionsParking Rules: Loading ZonesSome RestrictionsAnimal Ordinances: Breed RestrictionsFew RestrictionsAnimal Ordinances: Pet LimitsSome Restrictions

All Vallejo rules

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