3-9
GAMING.1
3-9.1 Maintaining Gaming Places.
It shall be unlawful for any person, either as principal, agent, employee or otherwise, to keep, conduct or maintain within the City any house, room, apartment or place used in whole or in part as a place where any game not mentioned in the State Penal Code, Sections 330 or 330a, is played, conducted, dealt or carried on with cards, dice, billiard balls, pool balls, cues or other devices for money, checks, chips, credit or any other representative of value or for any merchandise or other thing of value. (Code 1972 §22-18)
3-9.2 Permitting Premises To Be Used for Gaming Place.
It shall be unlawful for any person, either as principal, agent, employee or otherwise, knowingly to permit any house, room, apartment or place owned by him or under his charge or control in the City to be used in whole or in part for playing, conducting, dealing or carrying on therein any game not mentioned in the State Penal Code, Sections 330 or 330a, which is played, conducted, dealt or carried on with cards, dice, billiard balls, pool balls, cues or other devices for money, checks, chips, credits or other representatives of value, or for any merchandise or thing mentioned in the State Penal Code, Section 330a, or any other thing of value. (Code 1972 §22-19)
State law reference: Owner or tenant permitting gambling in house, Penal Code, §331.
3-9.3 Gaming.
It shall be unlawful for any person to play or bet at or against any game not mentioned in the State Penal Code, Sections 330 or 330a, which is played or conducted, dealt or carried on with cards, dice, billiard balls, pool balls, cues or other devices for money, checks, chips, credits or any other representative of value or for any merchandise or other thing of value. (Code 1972 §22-20)
State law reference: Gaming defined; punishment, Penal Code, §330.
3-9.4 Leasing Communications Facilities to Register Bets; Transmitting Bets by Communications Facilities.
No person shall sell, lease, let or rent any telegraph or telephone line or wire, or transmit any message over such line or wire knowing that the line, wire or message is to be used by any person conducting or carrying on any establishment or occupation prohibited by the State Penal Code, Section 337a. (Code 1972 §22-21)
State law references: Transmittal of racing information to gamblers, Penal Code, §337i; bookmaking or pool-selling, Penal Code, §337a.
3-9.5 Keeping Memoranda for Recording Bets or Wagers.
It shall be unlawful for any person to have in his possession in the City any writing, memoranda, betting marker or betting sheet upon which is recorded any bet or wager or any purported bet or wager upon the result or purported result of any trial or purported trial or contest of skill, speed or power of endurance of man or beast or between man, beast, mechanical apparatus or upon the result or purported result of any lot, chance, casualty or contingent event whatsoever. (Code 1972 §22-22)
3-9.6 Exhibiting Gambling Equipment in Protected Premises.
No person shall possess, exhibit or expose to view, when two (2) or more other persons are present, any part of any fare box, any pique blocks or pique cards, any roulette, fantan or craps equipment or any gambling layout whatever in any barred or barricaded house or room or in any place built or protected in such a manner as to make it difficult for access or ingress to police officers. (Code 1972 §22-23)
3-9.7 Attending Protected Premises Having Gambling Equipment.
No person shall resort to, attend or be in any house, room or other place where there is any gambling device, equipment or paraphernalia, which place is barred, barricaded, built or protected in such a manner as to make ingress difficult to police officers. (Code 1972 §22-24)
3-9.8 Possession of Devices Intended for Playing Fantan.
No person shall have in his possession any tin, bowl, box or other receptacle used for holding, covering or concealing any article used as a unit, or any stick, rod or article used as a unit, or any tool, instrument or other device used or intended to be used for the playing of fantan, or any game of any kind or nature for money, checks, chips, credit, merchandise or other representative of value. (Code 1972 §22-25)
3-9.9 Possession of Certain Gambling Devices Declared a Nuisance; Abatement by Destruction of Devices.
a. Any machine, contrivance, appliance, device, game, ticket, chance, share, interest, instrument or article operated, used, kept, possessed, placed or maintained in violation of the state Penal Code, Section 330a or any section enumerated in Part 1, Title 9, Chapter 9 of the Penal Code or this section are hereby declared to be a nuisance and shall be subject to abatement as provided below.
b. When any person has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any violation of this chapter or any other ordinance of the City or of any law of the State, which offense involved the operation, use, maintenance or possession of any article described above to be a nuisance, then such article shall be destroyed by the Chief of Police after the plea or after the judgment of conviction has become final. If any article subject to destruction as provided in this paragraph is in custody of any court, the Chief of Police shall cause an application to be made to the judge of the court for an order releasing the article to him in order that he may comply with this subsection.
(Code 1972 §22-26)
3-9.10 Gaming Violation.
Any person who violates any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of an infraction and shall be subject to the following penalties:
a. Fine amount for first violation: one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) plus five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) each additional machine over one;
b. Fine amount for second violation within twelve (12) months of first offense: five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) plus five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) each additional machine over one;
c. Fine amount for subsequent violation within twelve (12) months of first offense: ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) plus five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) each additional machine over one. (Ord. #1718, §2)
Editor’s Note: For Licensing of bingo games see Chapter 4.
State law references: Gaming, Penal Code, §330 et seq.; soliciting for gaming houses, Penal Code, §318.