California Online Gambling Laws No California laws prohibit, ban, or regulate online gambling. Residents are not arrested or prosecuted for gambling online. California requires residents to be 18 years of age to play the lottery.18 Oct 2019 Is online gambling legal in California 2018? There are currently no specific regulations that explicitly prohibit online gambling. Gambling or gaming activity is regulated by several different agencies in California. The list below will direct you to the responsible entity. Illegal gambling activity, cardroom activities, background checks, game rules, and self-exclusion at cardrooms Bureau of Gambling Control.

• Online Gambling Laws In California
• Is Online Gambling Illegal In California Laws
• Is Online Gambling Illegal In California Fires

California has many options for those who are interested in legal gambling, although sports gambling is not currently available in the state. While the US Supreme Court lifted restrictions on sports gambling in 2018 and many states followed with legalization, California has not yet followed suit.

Still, the state has a long history of card rooms, horse racing, a state lottery, and tribal casinos. Further, there was a push to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November of 2019 to legalize sports betting.

In the past few years, California has seen legislation proposing the legalization of online poker. California may be in the opening act of expanding gambling options in the state.

• California Penal Code Section 330. It is illegal to be a dealer in a game that is not sanctioned for gambling. The illegality comes in when someone is collecting money as people gamble similar to how Vegas does it and the various other casinos even throughout Los Angeles County.
• While California online sports betting and poker playing are still illegal, the state has not taken action against offshore entities that accept California players. Current Challenges Faced There is currently a fierce dispute between the Indian casinos and the card rooms as to which games the card rooms may offer and what constitutes a banked table game.
• As we mentioned before, online gambling is technically illegal in California if the website is being operated from the state. However, you can participate in online gambling by going to offshore.

Does California Have State-Regulated Online Gambling?

California does not currently have state-regulated online gambling. While there have been attempts to adopt legislation in this area, so far, the state has not enacted laws regarding online gambling.

Legal Progress On Poker Gambling In California

In 2008, Assembly Member Levine introduced AB 2026 in the California State Assembly to perform a study on allowing intrastate poker. The study focused on regulatory oversight of online gambling, technology, economic benefits to the state, and the types of games that might be allowed, among other matters. Ultimately, the Assembly failed to pass AB 2026, and the study did not move forward.

Another bill was introduced in 2016 to legalize online poker. Assembly Members Gray and Jones-Sawyer introduced AB 2863, the Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2016, to allow intrastate poker. Licensed operators would have been required by the Act to deposit $12.5 million into the California general fund while paying 10 percent of their revenues to the state. The Act also included a concession of $57 million to be paid into a fund for the benefit of California horse racing tracks. Unfortunately, the bill never went up for a vote.

Legal Progress On Sports Betting In California

There may be movement on sports betting in California in 2020, including online options. California legislators held a general informational hearing in January of 2020 in Sacramento on sports betting with representatives from online sportsbooks in attendance.

In addition, several of California’s Indian tribes filed a petition to place a measure for sports betting on the November 2020 ballot. That petition would limit sports betting to physical locations at tribal casinos and would not allow any type of online betting. The petition appeared to be well on the way to gathering enough signatures to appear on the ballot.

However, with the COVID-19 pandemic interrupting the collection of signatures, that began to seem uncertain. In June 2020, state legislators pressed pause on the bill. It will not be presented to the voters until November 2022.

Are Sweepstakes Allowed Under California Gambling Law?

Sweepstakes are legal under California law, although sweepstakes entities must be careful to meet the legal requirements for this type of contest. If the rules are not followed correctly, the contest could easily be construed as a lottery, which is illegal. The legal elements of a lottery are:

1. Giving a prize to a winner.
2. The contest is determined by chance.
3. A person pays “consideration” to participate in the contest.

Courts construe “consideration” broadly. It is more than just paying a fee to enter the contest. Consideration can include requirements such as opening a bank account to participate or even filling out a lengthy survey.

The main difference between an illegal lottery and sweepstakes is the lack of consideration for entering the sweepstakes. In fact, any solicitation materials for a sweepstakes entry in California must prominently display a “clear and conspicuous statement” that there is no purchase or payment for entering the contest. As long as online sweepstakes sites follow the relevant regulations, California does allow them to operate.

See our guides to Sweepstakes Casinos and Sweepstakes Poker in California.

How Do Tribal Casinos Work In California?

Thanks to a significant 1987 US Supreme Court ruling originating out of California, tribes may now operate tribal casinos on reservation lands throughout the country. The Supreme Court case overruled any restrictions on gaming on Indian reservations. In that case, two tribes (the Cabazon and Morongo Bands) were operating small bingo parlors and card rooms on reservation lands near Palm Springs. The State of California sought to close down the operations, stating they violated state regulations.

In its decision, the Supreme Court relied on its prior rulings from the 1830s that Indian tribes are independent political communities, thereby granting the tribes sovereign immunity. The Court held that since California did not prohibit gambling on a criminal basis, the state could not regulate gaming on reservation lands.

In response to that ruling, California voters approved Proposition 1A in 2000. Proposition 1A allows the governor to negotiate compacts with tribes on reservations in the state to offer various types of gambling. The State and tribes have since entered into a number of different compacts to permit gaming. As a result, there are now many tribal casinos operating in California.

See our Guide To Tribal Casinos In California.

Do Tribes Offer Online Gambling?

At this time, tribes in California do not offer online gambling. As noted previously, attempts to legalize online poker have thus far failed. Tribes were pushing for a ballot measure for the November 2020 election to allow sports gambling, but only in physical tribal casinos. It seems this measure will not be put to voters until November 2022.

What Games Can Tribes Offer At Casinos?

Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) passed by Congress in 1988, tribal casinos can offer a number of different games defined by various classes. Class I games include games that are for minimal value and traditional forms of Indian gaming. They are only regulated by the tribes.

Class II games include bingo, lotto, and poker. In these games, the participants are competing against each other and not against the house. Tribes can offer as many of these games as they want. Class II games are not subject to regulation by the states.

The IGRA also allows tribes to offer Class III games. These include all other types of gambling like slot machines, electronic games of chance, and many banked card games like blackjack. To offer these games, the games must be legal under the state laws, and the tribe must negotiate a compact with the state to permit the games.

California negotiated some compacts with tribes, but many prominent Las Vegas-style games are missing. The State of California has previously held that craps, roulette, and dice-games based on chance are prohibited under the state constitution and laws. Thus, you will not see these types of games in California casinos. Many tribal casinos have come up with some interesting workarounds to offer substantially similar games.

Are All Casinos In California Tribal Casinos?

All legally defined casinos in California are tribal casinos. Some card rooms may contain the word “casino” in their names. Legally, they are not casinos but instead are regulated as California card rooms by state law.

How Do Card Clubs Work in California?

Card rooms in California allow players to gamble against each other instead of the “house.” At tribal casinos, the dealer working for the casino is also the banker, paying out winners and taking money from losers. This is different from card rooms. At most card rooms, an employee serves as the dealer, and an independent third party is the banker. The card rooms make money by assessing a fee on each hand.

What Games Do Card Clubs Offer?

Poker is the main game at California card rooms. Card rooms offer other casino table games like baccarat, pai gow poker, and blackjack, referred to generally as “California” games. These games are not played the same way as they are at casinos. Regulations require that the players take turns as the dealer. If a player does not want to deal, the dealer employee will take up the task. At a casino, an employee would be the dealer all the time.

Who Can Operate A Card Club?

A business that wants to operate a card room must obtain a valid state gambling license from the California Bureau of Gaming Control and the California Gambling Control Commission. The Bureau conducts a background investigation to see if the applicant is suitable for a license. The question of suitability is based on multiple factors, including:

1. Honesty.
2. General character.
3. Reputation.
4. Habits.
5. Financial and criminal history.

The Bureau ensures that gambling activities are conducted honestly and free from corruption and other interference. All supervisors working for a card room must also have a license as a critical employee by the Bureau.

Currently, and since 1995, there is a moratorium on new card room licenses. There is hope that the government will lift this moratorium by 2023.

Betting On Horse Races In California

California has a long history of horse racing. In 1933, California voters approved Proposition 5 legalizing pari-mutuel wagering on horse races. Since then, several iconic venues for horse racing have been operating in the state. The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) is the governmental body that oversees horse racing.

The CHRB is responsible for enforcement of a number of different regulations. In June of 2019, Governor Newsom signed a bill into law granting the CHRB the power to suspend horse racing licenses for the safety of the horses. The Santa Ana venue had been in the news for a high number of horse deaths in 2018 and 2019. The CHRB also enforces the rules related to wagering on horse races.

See our Guide To Horse Racing In California.

Legal Online Betting In California

Online betting for horse races became legal in California in 2002. It is known as advance deposit wagering. This process allows a participant to place funds in an account with a licensee. The participant then directs the licensee to place wagers on behalf of the participant. The CHRB regulates advance deposit wagering both inside and outside of California.

Where Else Can You Place Horse Racing Bets?

Off-track betting is legal in California. California authorized satellite horse racing wagering in a law passed in 1984 and expanded in 1987. The satellite facilities offer off-track betting from horse races around the country. In addition, the state enacted legislation in 2007, allowing “mini-satellite” wagering facilities, as long as the location is not within 20 miles of another facility that offers betting. Card rooms may operate a mini-satellite facility.

The California State Lottery

California offers a state lottery. Proposition 37, passed in 1984, established the lottery. California voters approved the Proposition by a margin of 58 percent. It amended the California constitution to allow the state lottery to begin operating, with the first tickets sold in October of 1985.

Governor Schwarzenegger approved Assembly Bill No. 142 in 2010, which reallocated lottery revenues to maximize the benefit to public education. The bill also required 87 percent of revenue to be returned to the public in the form of prizes.

California began offering Powerball in 2013. Unlike other states participating in the Powerball, it offers pari-mutuel payouts for winners. A California Supreme Court case from 1996 upheld restrictions based on the California penal code that require the use of pari-mutuel payouts. As a result, a lottery winner in California may receive a different payout for a prize than a winner in other states.

Can You Buy Lottery Tickets Online In California?

A player cannot buy tickets online directly from the California lottery. Some services do offer the ability to purchase tickets online. These are known as courier services that buy the tickets on a participant’s behalf for a fee. They do not take any portion of the winnings. Further, neither the state nor the lottery endorses these services.

Who Regulates Legal Gambling In California?

A number of different governmental entities regulate legal gambling in California. The California Assembly and Legislature have the power to pass legislation impacting and authorizing new forms of gambling. The Bureau of Gambling Control and the California Gambling Control Commission regulate a lot of gambling activity in the state under a bifurcated system. The Bureau upholds the integrity of gambling in California. The Commission sets minimum standards for gambling in the state and grants licenses only for the appropriate individuals. These entities regulate the tribal casinos as well as card rooms.

As noted earlier, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) is responsible for regulating horse race betting. California established the CHRB in 1933. The governor appoints seven members to serve on the CHRB. The CHRB has broad regulatory authority over the horse racing industry. It regulates everything from the granting of licenses, to betting on races, to track safety.

With regard to the lottery, the governor appoints five members to the California Lottery Commission. The Commission approves the budget and business plan for the state lottery.

What Would It Take To Expand Gambling In California?

The California legislature needs to act to expand gambling in a meaningful way. Alternatively, a petition that would expand gambling could be put on the ballot. The main areas ripe for expansion are online poker and sports gambling. California may be more receptive to expanding in both those areas as it faces a severe budgetary shortfall due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Legislators may be looking at possible additional revenue to help during this uncertain time.

Online Gambling Laws In California

However, there are several different interests at play in the state. For example, it appears that tribal casinos want sports gambling only at physical locations, while other parties favor online options. The next few years will likely see movement and debate on the expansion of gambling in California. How this will play out remains to be seen.

On this page, we’ve compiled an in-depth summary of the current state of online gambling in CA, touching on various topics from the legality of gambling in the state to current regulatory debates. We’ve also compiled a list of safe and secure online casinos for California residents that you can view below, which have all been in business for 10+ years with no issues. If you’re looking for a legal, safe, and trusted California online casinos, you’re in luck!

What Are the Top Real Money Online Casinos in California?

California is known for being a trendsetter when it comes to most industries in the United States. It’s no surprise that legalized online gambling in California has grown far ahead of many other locations in the United States.

Why These CA Online Casinos Are The Best

They Offer Legal, Trusted Gambling Games to Residents and Visitors

The entire reason you’re probably here is to figure out which online casinos offer services to California residents. You’ve probably heard mixed answers about the legality of online gambling in California and, therefore, are not sure where you can and cannot play.

Because of that, the number one trait that makes California online casinos great is simply the fact that they offer services to California residents and visitors!

They Offer Games Californians Love to Play

Is Online Gambling Illegal In California Laws

What good is an online casino if it doesn’t have the games that Californians love to play? We’ll answer that question for you—it’s no good at all. The California online casinos that we’ve recommended offer an extremely wide variety of games, including favorites like blackjack, craps, roulette, three card poker, keno, slot machines, pai gow, sic bo, and more! If you’re looking for an easy way to play your favorite gambling games for real money in California, check out one of the recommended online casinos from the up-to-date list at the top of the page.

They Have Banking Options That Work Fast

Not every banking option works everywhere in the world. There are specific banking options that work better and faster for California residents. When we’re analyzing the quality of California online casinos, we ensure that they have several high-quality online casino banking options that work great for Californians.

While we don’t need tons of options, we do want to see at least a couple of great deposit options and a couple of great withdrawal options. You’re only going to need one, but we want options just so you have a better chance of seeing an option that is a great fit for you.

The Ultimate in Convenience

The entire point of using online casino sites is to provide convenience. California is an extremely spread out state in some areas, which means you may be hundreds of miles from the closest land-based casino. Additionally, that land-based casino might not offer the games you want to play. This is where online casinos come in. The idea of an online casino is to solve these problems and bring convenience to players across the state.

But this convenience goes away if the online gambling site doesn’t set things up properly. It should be super simple for you to create an account, make a deposit, find the games you like, play, and withdraw your winnings. If any of these things aren’t super simple, we’re not interested in the site and you won’t see those California online casinos recommended on this page.

Is Online Gambling Legal in California?

These days, the United States is one of the more confusing countries in the world when it comes to online gambling laws, with dozens of states having different rules and nuances of how they treat the topic. When it comes to California, it is perhaps the unique exception. There are currently no specific regulations that explicitly prohibit online gambling for residents of the state.

Because of this, Californians have little worry when it comes to playing online casino games, and currently, there are a number of trustworthy sites offering online casino games, sports betting, and poker across the state.

Unlike the state lottery, casinos that operate online are not subject to any sort of government scrutiny and, in many ways, can operate without fear of legal ramifications. For this reason, many bills have been proposed with the end goal of legalizing and regulating the online casino industry in the state.

Up to this point, however, any and all legislation aimed at legalizing and regulating online casinos has either stalled or has been flat-out rejected.

What Does This Mean for You?

There are two important takeaways you should get from this. One, it is not illegal for you to gamble online in California. You are free to play the games you want for real money without fear of negative repercussions. Two, the market is unregulated, which means that you will not have some of the added protections and oversight you would get in a regulated market.

This makes it that much more important that you choose to gamble online in California. The good news for you is that casinos make a lot of money. For them to continue making money, they have to continue having happy customers that are getting the entertainment value they desire. If they are not operating reputably and taking care of their customers, word will get out, and their cash cow is going to dry up. This places a huge incentive for online casinos in California to do things the right way as if they were being regulated.

Still, not every online casino follows that mindset. There are some California online casinos that only look at the short term and don’t care about their long-term sustainability. Because of this, it is also important that you take advantage of resources like this site to help you determine where the best casinos online are. If you want to ensure you’re betting with one of these reputable sites, stick to the recommended list we’ve provided at the top of the page.

The Future of Online Gambling in California

Despite what has been a mostly fruitless endeavor up to this point, experts believe that California is one of the next states that will establish legalized intrastate online casinos. Each year, it seems as though a larger number of bills for the complete and total legalization and regulation of online casinos gets put into circulation.

It is only a matter of time until one of them is signed into law. With that being said, online gambling sites are what many would consider to be the least of California’s governmental problems. With almost constant drought, severe debt, and many other issues on hand, it becomes difficult for activists to convince politicians and voters alike that establishing an online casino network is something that should be done soon. Many efforts have been made, and only few have succeeded.

The fact that the California government does not oversee them does not mean that the California online casinos which offer their games are not trustworthy. These casinos are regulated abroad and most are very reliable; you just have to sign up with time-tested ones with stellar reputations. To help you with choosing a legal CA online casino to play at, we have reviewed and researched dozens and recommend the best online casinos for California residents at the top of the page.

Legal Status of Brick and Mortar Casinos — California

In California, there are plenty of brick-and-mortar locations all over the state. One thing that all of these casinos have in common, however, is that they are all Native American-run and almost always located on Native American land. This sounds like a rather conservative policy for an otherwise liberal state, but the wider scope of gambling and casinos in California is not as restrictive as it may first appear. Of course, this all depends on where you reside in the United States.

The land-based casinos in California usually offer all the classic favorites such as slots, roulette, keno, baccarat, blackjack and the like.

Card rooms—as they are known in California—number in the tens of dozens and seem to be growing in number all the time. Poker is the dominant offering of California’s card rooms, however, blackjack variants and other more obscure games can be found being played as well. Basically, so long as the game is centered around playing cards, the rule of thumb is that it can likely be found at a card room. Naturally, some card rooms are better than others, and thus, the offering of one card room is never equal to that of another.

Additionally, if you play non-poker, gambling-type games in one of these card rooms, you’ll notice that the “bank” or who you are playing against will actually be another player at the table who is being paid to be there. It’s a confusing system and clearly a workaround for the state laws, but the outcome is the same. You are able to play your favorite games without fear of negative repercussions.

There are brick and mortar, Native American-run casinos all over the state, however, online gambling is still the easiest way to play any and all casino games at any time of day. When it comes down to it, someone who is looking to play casino games in California will either have to do so at CA online casinos or on Native American land. As you might have guessed, this predicament means that online casino play in California is quite widespread. It’s this common knowledge that is driving the push to legalize and regulate real money online casinos.

In recent years, pro-casino activists have lobbied politicians to promote and/or vote for bills to expand the way in which Californians can gamble at brick-and-mortar sites, but most of those efforts have so far been for naught. This is interesting, too, because California is historically one of the more liberal states in the country. Some of the largest land-based casinos currently operating in California include the following:

Local California Land Based Casinos

Is Online Gambling Illegal In California Fires

California Online Casinos and Gambling FAQ

• Abbreviation: CA
• State Motto: Eureka
• Capital City: Sacramento
• Population Estimate: 39.5 million (1st)
• Website: https://www.ca.gov/

Most notably, the online casinos we recommend for California residents have all been operating for many years and have strong reputations to defend. In case of issues, they will resolve them immediately so that their stellar reputations are not sullied. These online casinos also use time-tested technology and reputable casino games, therefore, you can be sure that if you decide to make a deposit in one of these casinos, your depositing process will be safe and secure and the games you will play will be fair and give you an honest chance to win money!