California: Gambling Machines Seized in Vallejo ‘Bi-Zone’ Raid; Three Arrested
- State agents and Vallejo police raided a Sonoma Boulevard business known as the “Bi-Zone” and seized three illegal gambling machines, California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office announced on Oct.
- The search happened at about 7 a.m.
- According to the attorney general’s release, the Vallejo Police Department gave the state Department of Justice a “credible tip” in July 2026 about illegal gambling businesses in the city.
State agents and Vallejo police raided a Sonoma Boulevard business known as the “Bi-Zone” and seized three illegal gambling machines, California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office announced on Oct. 26, 2026.
The search happened at about 7 a.m. on Oct. 21, 2026, on the 2400 block of Sonoma Boulevard, between Alabama and Louisiana streets, CBS San Francisco reported. Eight people inside were detained. Three of them had outstanding warrants and were booked into the Solano County Jail on those warrants, police said. Their names were not released.
According to the attorney general’s release, the Vallejo Police Department gave the state Department of Justice a “credible tip” in July 2026 about illegal gambling businesses in the city. Investigators from the department’s Bureau of Gambling Control took over the case and wrote the search warrant, and the police SWAT team served it. The release says charges will be filed with the Solano County District Attorney’s Office.
A photo released by Vallejo police showed the business’s house rules taped to a red wall: “No ski-mask, no guns, [and] no dogs,” FOX40 reported. The warrants for the three people arrested ranged from failure to appear to contempt of court, with bail totaling $128,000, the station said. CBS put the largest at $100,000, for a contempt warrant out of Sonoma County.
“Let this operation serve as a lesson to not bet against the California Department of Justice,” Bonta said. “If you do, your luck will run out.”
Neither agency has said what charges the business operators could face. Under California Penal Code section 330b, owning, keeping or allowing the operation of a slot machine or similar device is a misdemeanor. A first offense carries a fine of $500 to $1,000, up to six months in county jail, or both. Penalties rise for repeat offenses, up to a $25,000 fine and a year in jail for a third.
On Oct. 7, 2026, Game Empress covered a New Jersey raid in which Trenton police seized more than 70 slot machines.
Featured image: Vallejo City Hall in 2011. Photo: Eugene Zelenko / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
