California card room laws rest on a single principle: the house can charge you to play, but it cannot bet against you. Roughly 80 licensed card rooms operate across the state under a framework built from Penal Code Section 330, the Gambling Control Act, regulations from two state agencies, and local ordinances that vary city by city. Below is what operators, employees, and players actually need to know.
The Core Rule: No Banking or Percentage Games
Penal Code Section 330 makes it a misdemeanor to run or play any “banking game” or “percentage game.” A banking game is one where the house pays winners and collects from losers. A percentage game is one where the house takes a cut based on the amount wagered or won. Both give the house a financial stake in the outcome, and both are off-limits.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 330 – Gaming
A conviction under Section 330 carries a fine between $100 and $1,000, up to six months in county jail, or both. The statute reaches operators and players alike, so sitting down at an illegal banked game is itself a criminal act.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 330 – Gaming
That is why card room income comes from a rake or time charge that is flat and predetermined, collected the same way regardless of who wins. Scaling the fee to the size of the pot starts to resemble a percentage game and can trigger liability. Card rooms are also barred entirely from slot machines, roulette, and craps. Tribal casinos hold the constitutional right to those games under Proposition 1A, and card rooms cannot cross into that territory.2Legislative Analyst’s Office. California Tribal Casinos – Questions and Answers
How Player-Dealer Games Get Around the Ban
Card rooms want to offer games that look like blackjack and baccarat, so state law carves a narrow path. Under Penal Code Section 330.11, a game with a rotating player-dealer position is not treated as a banking game as long as the position rotates continuously among players, the player-dealer’s win or loss is capped, and the house never sits in the dealer seat.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 330.11
In practice, one player at the table acts as the “bank” for a hand, taking on the financial risk, and the role then passes. New Department of Justice regulations taking effect April 1, 2026 require the player-dealer position to rotate to at least two players other than any third-party proposition player within every 40-minute window, or the game must end.4California Department of Justice. California Code of Regulations Title 11 – Games with a Player-Dealer Position
When no player at the table wants the banker seat, a licensed Third-Party Proposition Player Service (TPPP) fills it. A TPPP is an independent, separately licensed business that sends players to sit at tables and assume the banker position using their own money.5Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 4 Section 12270 – TPPPS Contract Criteria Only one TPPP provider can operate at a given table, and TPPP players cannot serve at a card room where they also hold an ownership license.4California Department of Justice. California Code of Regulations Title 11 – Games with a Player-Dealer Position
Which Games Are Allowed
Card rooms can only offer “controlled games,” and every game must be individually approved by the Bureau of Gambling Control before it is dealt. The approved list includes poker in its many variations, pai gow poker, and blackjack-style and baccarat-style “California games” that use the player-dealer structure. Tournaments, jackpots, and bonus promotions also require Bureau approval and must comply with local ordinances.6Office of the Attorney General. Cardrooms
Poker fits the model cleanly because it has always been player against player. The legal pressure sits on the California games, which are the subject of active litigation.
The Tribal Lawsuit That Could Change the Game List
Tribes argue that voters gave them the exclusive constitutional right to host banked card games, and that the player-dealer workaround lets card rooms offer functionally identical games under a different label.7CalMatters. Newsom Signs New Law Backing Tribes in High-Stakes Gambling Fight
In September 2024, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 549, the Tribal Nations Access to Justice Act. Under the law, any tribe with a current gaming compact can sue licensed card rooms and TPPP providers in Sacramento County Superior Court, asking a judge to declare whether a specific player-dealer game violates the ban on banking games. If a court finds a game illegal, it can issue an injunction stopping the game, effective 60 days after entry. The law does not allow tribes to collect money damages or attorney’s fees.8California Legislative Information. SB 549 – Tribal Nations Access to Justice Act
The filing window under SB 549 closed on April 1, 2025. Any resulting rulings could narrow which games California card rooms are allowed to offer.
Who Regulates Card Rooms
Two state agencies split the work. The California Gambling Control Commission (CGCC) handles licensing and policy: application procedures, background information requirements, and minimum internal controls covering financial recordkeeping, revenue computation, and asset safeguarding. The Commission can restrict games, hours, table counts, and wagering limits at any card room when it decides local rules aren’t protecting surrounding communities.9California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 19841
The Bureau of Gambling Control (BGC), housed in the Department of Justice, runs investigations and enforcement. The Bureau conducts background investigations on applicants, inspects card rooms for compliance, and approves the rules for every game before it is offered.10Office of the Attorney General. Bureau of Gambling Control
Local governments add a third layer. A city or county can cap the number of gaming tables, set betting limits lower than the state maximum, restrict hours, and impose licensing requirements beyond what the state demands. Local ordinances also commonly enact explicit prohibitions on extending credit, accepting IOUs, or lending chips. Two card rooms 20 miles apart can operate under meaningfully different rules depending on their jurisdiction.
Rules That Affect Players Directly
Patrons must be at least 21 years old. The age floor covers not just playing but being present in the gaming area, which is stricter than the 18-and-older thresholds for the state lottery and pari-mutuel horse racing.
Games run on table stakes. You can only wager the chips or cash on the table when the hand begins, and you cannot reach into your pocket mid-hand. Card rooms cannot extend credit or lend chips. If you run out, you buy in again between hands or leave the table.
Every licensed card room participates in the state’s Self-Exclusion Program, administered by the Bureau of Gambling Control. Enrolling bans you from all licensed card rooms in California, though not from tribal casinos, which fall under separate jurisdiction. Terms are either one year or lifetime, and the commitment is irrevocable for the term you choose. Any jackpot or prize a self-excluded person wins during the exclusion period is forfeited and deposited into the state’s Gambling Addiction Program Fund.11Office of the Attorney General. About the Self-Exclusion Program12Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 4 Section 12464 – Self-Exclusion Program
Work Permits for Card Room Employees
Every gambling enterprise employee must hold a valid work permit, issued either by the local jurisdiction where they work or by the CGCC when the locality has no process of its own. The Commission can issue a temporary work permit while the background investigation is pending, so new hires can start working before the full review finishes.13Office of the Attorney General. Application for Initial Regular Work Permit/Temporary Work Permit
Federal Tax and Anti-Money Laundering Obligations
Card room winnings are taxable under federal law whether or not a form is issued. For poker tournaments, card rooms file IRS Form W-2G when a player’s net winnings (prize minus buy-in) reach the reporting threshold, which for 2026 is $2,000 and adjusts annually for inflation starting that year. If the winner does not provide a taxpayer identification number, the card room withholds 24% of the full prize as backup withholding.14Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754 (01/2026)
Card rooms also carry Bank Secrecy Act obligations. Federal law classifies licensed casinos and card clubs with annual gaming revenue above $1 million as “financial institutions,” subject to the same reporting rules as banks.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 U.S. Code 5312 – Definitions and Application The most visible piece is the Currency Transaction Report, which a card room must file for any cash transaction or series of related transactions over $10,000 in a single day. Suspicious Activity Reports are also required when transactions appear designed to evade reporting, regardless of amount.
How to File a Complaint
Complaints about illegal gambling activity, rule violations, or self-exclusion breaches go to the Bureau of Gambling Control, not the CGCC. Reach the Bureau’s Compliance and Enforcement Section at (916) 830-1700 (option 1) or gamblingcontrol@doj.ca.gov.16California Gambling Control Commission. Complaints Contact Information