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

20, "Card Rooms and Gambling," consists of a single adopting section. 010, the City Council incorporated the San Diego County Code of Regulatory Ordinances (Chapter 1, Division 7, Title 3) governing card rooms and gambling by reference, with one copy kept on file in the Office of the City Clerk. The ordinance dates to Ord. No. 63-1, enacted January 28, 1963, was amended by Ord. No. 63-13 on May 14, 1963, and again by Ord. No. 90-16 on May 29, 1990. Because the chapter has no stand-alone penalty clause of its own, enforcement falls to Vista's general penalty chapter.

010 states that no person, firm, company or corporation may violate any provision of the code "or any code adopted by reference herein," which reaches the adopted county card room rules directly. A violation is a misdemeanor unless the City Attorney or City Prosecutor elects to charge it as an infraction, or a court reduces a filed misdemeanor to an infraction at the People's request without the defendant's objection. 010(D) sets the misdemeanor penalty at a fine not to exceed $1,000, imprisonment in the city or county jail for up to six months, or both.

If charged as an infraction instead, fines run $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second violation of the same ordinance within 12 months, and up to $500 for each additional violation in that same 12-month window. 010(E) makes each day a violation continues a separate, additional offense. 20 itself to the county's Title 3, Division 7, Chapter 1 regulatory ordinance for the actual licensing standards, hours, and operating conditions that apply.