Visalia Municipal Code Art. 1 Card Games

No provision of this article shall be construed to prohibit any act made unlawful by any general law of the state of California but said article is intended to be supplemental thereto. (Prior code § 5045)

A. Gambling House Prohibited. No person shall keep, conduct or maintain any house, room, apartment or place, used in whole or in part as a gambling house or place where any game is played, conducted, dealt, or carried on with cards, dice, dominoes or other devices, for money, checks, chips, credit, or any representative of value, in the result of which game chance is any determining factor, except as set forth in Section 9.12.030. The word “cards” as used in this article is not intended to and shall not include games known as bridge or whist.

B. Permitting Use as a Gambling House. No person shall knowingly permit any house, room, apartment or place owned by him or under his charge or control to be used in whole or in part as a gambling house or place of playing, conducting, dealing, or carrying on any game, played with cards, dice, dominoes, or other device, for money, checks, chips, credit or any representative of value, in the result of which game chance is any determining factor, except as set forth in Section 9.12.030.

C. Betting. No person shall deal, operate, attend, play or bet at or against any game, in 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, checks, chips, credit or any representative of value, in any house, room, apartment, or place, except as set forth in Section 9.12.030. (Prior code § 5046)

The following exceptions are made to the provisions of Section 9.12.020 and the subsections thereunder.

A. Private Games. Said provisions shall not apply to occasional private games, otherwise lawful, carried on for purely social purposes in a private home. Neither shall said provisions apply to otherwise lawful games, other than card games, conducted by a private group of customers, for the sole purpose of determining which member of said group shall pay for food, refreshments, or beverages, for immediate consumption by the group.

B. Benevolent Organizations Licensed. A license may be issued in the reasonable discretion of the chief of police to any incorporated or chartered fraternal, labor, nonprofit, benevolent or charitable organization, or to any religious association, which organization or association has been continuously carrying on within the city the activities of which it was organized for a period of not less than two years immediately proceeding making application therefore. Said license shall authorize such organization or association to conduct a game room or rooms wherein games not in conflict with any state law may be played and conducted, incidental to the other activities of such organization, but in conformity with the provisions of this subsection. No advertising or advertising signs shall be permitted in connection with said operation. The licensee shall have a paid attendant on the premises at all times when games are in progress, and it shall be his duty to report to the licensee any violation of law.

C. Members Only. No such game shall be open to the public but shall be used only by the members of the respective organization or association licensed and shall be maintained in the building principally used by the licensee.

D. Existing Card Rooms. Any card room in the annexed area in operation pursuant to the provisions of the Ordinance Code of the county of Tulare for a period of one year prior to the effective date of annexation of the property to the city, shall be permitted to operate for a period of six months from the effective date of annexation; thereafter, the further operation of said card room by any persons shall be in violation of this section. (Prior code § 5047)