Gambling in California in 2024
California gambling features a patchwork of in-person gambling establishments that are supplemented by online gambling sites available to those who live in the state. It can be a confusing landscape to navigate. This is because different laws being enacted are always changing the situation. But the bottom line is that there are plenty of real money gambling options available to you if you know how and where to find them.
| Rank | VA Gambling Site | Deposit Bonus | Products | Get Started | |
| #1 |
Las Atlantis
|
280% Up To $14,000 |
|
Visit Site | |
| #2 |
Wild Casino
|
250% Up To $5,000 |
|
Visit Site | |
| #3 |
BetUS
|
125% Up To $2,500 |
|
Visit Site | |
| #4 |
BetOnline
|
50% Up To $1,000 |
|
Visit Site | |
| #5 |
MyBookie
|
50% Up To $1,000 |
|
Visit Site | |
Considering it is such a massive state, you might think that California is full of gambling establishments. There are a lot of them, but they don’t take the form of the sprawling casinos found in the nearby state of Nevada. That’s why, if you live in California, you should know what kinds of gambling options are available to you in terms of both land-based choices and the internet gambling sites that are springing up everywhere.
In the following article, we’ll cover all the bases when it comes to real money gambling in California. We’ll talk about the importance of knowing how to choose California from among your many options, and we’ll also talk about the land-based gambling places you can visit. We’ll even look at the various types of legal gambling allowed in the state and give you answers to any questions you might have about the state’s wagering opportunities.
Best California Online Gambling Sites
As we mentioned above, there are gambling locations spread throughout the state of California. But it’s a big state, and many of the casinos are located in more remote areas rather than in some of the most-populated cities in the state. That’s why it’s a good idea for you, as a gambler, to know about the California gambling sites that you’ll have at your disposal, starting with these:
Las Atlantis – Top-Rated California Gambling Site
- Biggest online gambling bonus.
- Over 240 casino gambling options.
- Instant payouts of real money winnings.
Wild Casino – Best Real Money California Online Casino
- Best live dealer online casino for 2024.
- Widest variety of secure banking options.
- $9,000 cryptocurrency welcome bonus.
BetUS – Top Califoria Sports Betting Site for 2024
- Over 25 years in business.
- Live sports betting options.
- Easy to use gambling interface.
BetOnline – Best Site for Online Poker in California
- Bonuses offered on sports, casino, and poker.
- 24/7/365 VIP customer support and service.
- Newly redesigned user interface.
How do we know for sure that these are indeed the finest online California gambling sites? We’ve done the research, checking them all out based on certain criteria that every gambling site should be able to satisfy. If you’d like to know what those criteria are so that you can make the most informed choice possible, keep reading.
What Makes These the Best California Gambling Sites?
While it is a relatively simple process to gamble online, there are a lot of boxes that need to be checked by the gambling site in question to give you a smooth experience. Think of it as a checklist that all of the legit California online gambling sites need to fulfill before they can even be considered one of the best. Take a look at just what can be found on that checklist.
Years of Experience
Whenever you’re dealing with money changing hands, you would ideally like to be dealing with an entity that has done it many times before. That goes double for online gambling in CA because you’ll also be giving them some personal information in addition to important financial data. For those reasons, you should be seeking out California gambling sites that have been in existence for a while, because that’s usually a good indication that they’ve provided positive experiences for their customers.
For example, a site like Wild Casino has been around in some form or another since 1991. In other words, they’ve pretty much been in business since the start of the internet. There isn’t likely to be much that they haven’t encountered in that time, which means that they’ll be ready to handle anything when it comes to your gambling needs.
Safety and Security
We really can’t stress this enough when it comes to real money California gambling sites. This is an unregulated area in the state, which means that if an issue related to your gambling account occurs, you won’t be able to turn to anyone. And sadly, there are a lot of unscrupulous actors to be found online trying to scam you out of your gambling money and much more.
The best California gambling sites deliver you a safe, secure betting experience. Your personal information will stay put, and your money will be safely banked when you’re not using it to gamble. Don’t go looking for frills; instead, try to concentrate on the websites that deliver the goods in terms of safety and security.
Many Real Money Gambling Choices
The best California online gambling sites deliver you a kind of all-in-one gambling experience. They have casino games galore, allowing you to experience the best, most lucrative action in table games and slot machines. And they also have sportsbooks that allow you to wager on sports from all over the world at any time of the year.
For example, MyBookie not only gives you a full-service sportsbook on the internet, but it also adds in all the best games in their online casino. In other words, the best online California gambling sites give you everything under one digital roof.
Robust Bonuses and Promotions
If you’re new to gambling online, you might be shocked when you first visit a site and see these huge bonus offers that you can get for betting there. This can be especially jarring if you’re some one used to gambling in casinos, where the bonus offers are often quite modest. Since CA gambling websites don’t have to worry about maintaining big overheads on their premises, they can make up the difference in what they offer players.
As an example, Super Slots offers you an opening bonus of up to $6,000 to be used on casino games. That’s a great way to get started at an online gambling site to see if it’s the right one for you. And you can expect bonuses to keep showing up throughout your time gambling, as long as you choose your site wisely.
Safe and Secure Banking Methods
Lesser online gambling sites might allow you to pay with a single credit card. What happens if that’s not a credit card that you own, or if it’s one with pretty high interest rates attached to it each time that you use it. It would be nice to have other options, which is where the banking flexibility of top online gambling sites in California comes into play.
To show you what we mean, check out the cashier page for BetOnline, which is both an online casino and an online sports gambling site. You get to use top credit cards there, such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. But you can also pay with BitCoin if you find that more convenient. As a result, you get to choose the method of withdrawals and deposits that make the most sense to you.
Fast Payouts of Winnings
There are few different aspects that you should consider when it comes to getting fast payback from a CA gambling site. First of all, you should be wary of any site that promises you fast paybacks but doesn’t provide you with clear guidelines for withdrawals. You should be able to find in the terms and conditions when you can expect your withdrawal requests to take place.
Once those guidelines are located, you should be confident they’ll be followed consistently. Finally, you shouldn’t have to wait forever for your money to get from your gambling account to your personal account. Winnings won’t mean too much if you can’t actually get your hands on them in a reasonably short time.
Access on Mobile Devices
If a California online gambling site doesn’t give you some sort of mobile option, you’ll really be missing out. The best sites will have either a mobile-dedicated version of the site or a downloadable gambling app. In either case, you should have something that is much more manageable if you’re using a smaller device.
Once you have mobile capabilities, you can take your device with you no matter where you go. For example, you can bet on sports game even if you’re away from your computer. Or if you’re in an office waiting for a few minutes, you can pull out your phone and play a few hands of blackjack for money.
Customer Service and Support
When you log onto a CA gambling site, you should be able to find the contact information with no problem. Ideally, the site will give you multiple ways of contacting them, such as phone, email, or live chat. And once you do make contact, the best California gambling sites online will get back to you quickly about your problem.
Problems happen, even at top gambling websites, and you shouldn’t panic when they do occur, especially if you’ve chosen a site with an excellent reputation for customer service. These sites will answer you quickly and will make every effort to solve whatever problem you might have. If they can’t, they’ll instead find a way to make it good for you.
Easy to Use Gambling Interface
If you’re new to online gambling, having a simple interface on your chosen California gambling site will make a huge difference for you. The best sites are what tech experts call “intuitive,” in that they sort of lead you to where you need to go without having to wander around the site aimlessly. It’s crucial to have the ability to navigate to the right page quickly if, for example, you’re trying to get in a last-minute wager on a horse race.
The interface for the gambling site should also work properly.
There shouldn’t be any situations where the screen freezes or you get bounced off the site. Don’t forget that real money will be on the line, so any mishaps like that could be very costly.
Different Types of California Gambling Sites
Gambling sites can sometimes do a little bit of everything, or they can be more specific to certain niches within the gambling industry. You should identify what your favorite types of gambling are before seeking out online gambling sites in California. When you know what you want, you can focus on one of these categories.
Best California Online Casinos
While many CA casinos are located in areas that can be hard to reach depending on your place of origin, online gambling casinos are always within your reach. All you need is a computer or any kind of device that allows you to access the internet. Once that’s in place, all of your favorite table games, slot machines, and other casino entertainment options will be available to you.
Best Online Sportsbooks in California
Some of the best professional and college franchises can be found in the Golden State, and many top events in other sports take place there as well. All of this action can be wagered if you frequent California online sportsbooks. But as we mentioned, California online sports gambling sites should be vetted with the same kind of diligence you would use at a casino or at a real money online casino site.
Best California Poker Sites
CA is home to many poker rooms, which are legal establishments where poker can be played. But these locations might not have the same type of poker you want to play, or they might have different betting limits than you prefer. Your best bet, literally and figuratively, is to sign up at one of the best California poker sites, as these sites can give you any kind of action you want without having to leave your house.
History of California’s Gambling Laws
California may not be as synonymous with gambling as its neighbor to the east, Nevada, but games of chance have been played in the Golden State in some form or fashion for decades. However, those games were essentially unchecked by state law until the 1980s, when a variety of local Native American tribes began to operate their own games.
The tribes viewed themselves as sovereign nations independent from the state when they began to offer bingo games with cash prizes in the early-1980s. Back in the 1830s, the US Supreme Court ruled on two separate occasions that Native American tribes were their own “independent political communities” that could operate with certain natural rights that preceded colonization. As a result, federal law essentially allowed tribes to operate fully legal casinos without interference from the states.
In 1987, the Supreme Court ruled that the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians and the Morongo Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians would be allowed to operate card games and bingo rooms without regulation from the state of California or Riverside County. Shortly thereafter, California’s government voted to expand tribal casino operations in the state.
The very next year, the US Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which called for tribes and state governments to come to terms on agreements on how to regulate gambling operations in various states. The Native American gambling industry exploded from a $212 million operation to a $6.7 billion industry in a nine-year period between 1988 and 1997.
California’s Native American casinos were at the forefront of the explosion. There are a total of 62 tribal casinos in California as of now, with more expected to open in the years to come. Back in 1999, Governor Gray Davis signed a total of 58 tribal compacts that allowed card games and as many as 2,000 slot machines per casino. The state would collect $150 million as a part of the deal, though none of that money would go to California’s general fund.
In early-2000, California voters supported Proposition 1A, which amended the state’s constitution to allow casino-style gambling on Native American land. The amendment called for tribes and the state to agree to make sure that any and all gambling activities that take place on tribal land are safe and operate without criminal involvement.
In 2004, tribes offered to pay $1 billion to the state in exchange for the removal of the limit of 2,000 slot machines per casino. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ultimately relented and signed off on the measure, which allowed three tribes to add 5,500 new slots to their existing casino floors.
While more than 20 states have voted to open their own legalized sports betting industries since the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the federal sports betting ban in 2018, Californians still have to travel to neighboring Nevada if they want to do so legally. While the state is expected to consider expanding legal betting options in the state in the years to come, there are currently no plans to open the state to legalized sports betting any time in the near future.
Current Gambling Laws in California
- Casino Gambling: Legal
- Sports Betting: Legal
- Poker: Legal
- Racing Betting: Legal (With Restrictions)
- Lotteries: Legal
- Bingo: Legal
- Charitable Gaming: Legal
- Social Gambling: Legal (With Restrictions)
California’s Casino Gambling Laws
Casinos are legal in the state of California as long as they are operated by Native tribes that are recognized by the federal government in the United States. This was established by the National Indian Gaming Regulatory Act back in 1988, which opened up the floodgates for Indian gaming all over the country. But there are no commercial casinos that are sanctioned by the state.
The National Indian Gaming Regulatory Act reads as follows:
(1) Class I gaming on Indian lands is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Indian tribes and shall not be subject to the provisions of this chapter.
(2) Any class II gaming on Indian lands shall continue to be within the jurisdiction of the Indian tribes, but shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter.
Class I gaming is defined as:
The term “class I gaming” means social games solely for prizes of minimal value or traditional forms of Indian gaming engaged in by individuals as a part of, or in connection with, tribal ceremonies or celebrations.
Class II gaming is defined as:
The game of chance commonly known as bingo (whether or not electronic, computer, or other technologic aids are used in connection therewith)— which is played for prizes, including monetary prizes, with cards bearing numbers or other designations, in which the holder of the card covers such numbers or designations when objects, similarly numbered or designated, are drawn or electronically determined, and in which the game is won by the first person covering a previously designated arrangement of numbers or designations on such cards, including (if played in the same location) pull-tabs, lotto, punch boards, tip jars, instant bingo, and other games similar to bingo.
With all that being said, people love gambling in California. In terms of the total number of electronic gambling machines, CA ranks second only to the gambling mecca of the US in Nevada.
If you’re interested in seeing the number of gambling machines in a different state than those listed above, check out the full list at Statista.
Sports Betting Laws in California
At the moment, sports betting is illegal in the state of California in terms of companies running land-based sportsbooks in the state. But that doesn’t prohibit residents from gambling overseas at California sports gambling sites. Such activities are technically not prohibited by any law on the books in the state or at the federal level.
Here’s what Section 337a of the Penal Code says about bookmaking:
“Except as provided in Section 336.9, every person who engages in one of the following offenses, shall be punished for a first offense by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than one year or in the state prison, or by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both imprisonment and fine:
(1)Pool selling or bookmaking, with or without writing, at any time or place.”
Real Money Poker Laws
Poker can be played at one of the card rooms that are licensed in the state. These card rooms tend to offer a handful of games, but poker is the main draw. You can also play poker at California online poker sites as well.
California’s Racing Betting Laws
Legal wagering on horses in California in person or at California online gambling sites has been on the books since 1933 (obviously there weren’t online gambling sites in 1933 but you have been allowed to bet on horse races online in California since the creation of online racebooks). These races must be wagered on using pari-mutuel wagering, which is a system of betting where pools of bets establish the odds. There are many famous horse racing tracks in California, including Santa Anita and Del Mar.
Here’s what Section 19590 of the Business and Professions Code says about wagering on horse racing:
“The board shall adopt rules governing, permitting, and regulating parimutuel wagering on horse races under the system known as the parimutuel method of wagering. Parimutuel wagering shall be conducted only by a person or persons licensed under this chapter to conduct a horse racing meeting or authorized by the board to conduct advance deposit wagering.”
Laws on Lotteries in California
As is the case with most of the United States, California has a state lottery that generates funds for the state. You can buy scratch-off tickets that can win you money if you get lucky. There are also big Powerball and Mega Millions drawings occasionally as well where players can win huge monetary prizes.
Bingo Laws in California
You can indeed play bingo for real money in the state of California. Most bingo games are established by charitable organizations. While the prizes for these games tend to be modest, they still prove popular, in large part because bingo is such a simple and fun game to play.
Here’s what Section 8880.1 of the California Government Code says about the lottery:
“The People of the State of California declare that the purpose of this Act is support for preservation of the rights, liberties and welfare of the people by providing additional monies to benefit education without the imposition of additional or increased taxes. The People of the State of California further declare that it is their intent that the net revenues of the California State Lottery shall not be used as substitute funds but rather shall supplement the total amount of money allocated for public education in California.”
CA Charitable Gaming Laws
Organizations can indeed feel free to put on gambling events to raise funds. This can range from raffles to bingo to more complex prize games. The general rule here is that charitable gambling events should only include so-called “games of chance,” which are those where no skill is required to win.
Social Gaming Laws in California
Informal games at homes or other gatherings are generally legal in California. The big red flag would be if the person or group who are hosting the game or administering it take some sort of profit for that. They then become the “house,” and that is where the law might crack down.
Games where the “house” could win and you could run into issues include:
- Faro
- Monte
- Roulette
- Lansquenet
- Rouge et noire
- Rondo
- Tan
- Fan-tan
- Seven-and-a-half
- Twenty-one
- Hokey-pokey
If you’re caught betting in any of these games you can end up paying $1,000 in fines and spending six months in jail.
Here’s what Section 330 of the California Gambling Law, Regulations, and Resource Information says about illegal forms of gambling and the punishment for it:
“Every person who deals, plays, or carries on, opens, or causes to be opened, or who conducts, either as owner or employee, whether for hire or not, any game of faro, monte, roulette, lansquenet, rouge et noire, rondo, tan, fan-tan, seven-and a-half, twenty-one, hokey-pokey, or any banking or percentage game played with cards, dice, or any device, for money, checks, credit, or other representative of value, and every person who plays or bets at or against any of those prohibited games, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punishable by a fine not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by both the fine and imprisonment.”
List of Casinos in California
Click Here to View the Full List of CA Casinos
1) Win-River Casino
2100 Redding Rancheria Road
Redding, California 96001-5530
2) Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa
32-250 Bob Hope Drive
Rancho Mirage, California 92270
3) Augustine Casino
84-001 Avenue 54 at Van Buren
West Coachella, California 92236
4) Barona Resort and Casino
1932 Wildcat Canyon Road
Lakeside, California 92040
5) Bear River Casino
11 Bear Paws Way
Loleta, California 95551
6) Bear River Pump and Play
27 Bear River Dr.
Loleta, California 95551
7) Black Oak Casino
19400 Tuolumne Road North
Tuolumne, California 95379-9724
8) Blue Lake Casino
777 Casino Way
Blue Lake, California 95525
9) Blue Lake Playstation 777
777 Casino Way
Blue Lake, California 95525
10) Cache Creek Casino
14455 Highway 16
Brooks, California 95606-0065
11) Cahuilla Casino
52702 Highway 371
Anza, California 92539
12) Casino Pauma
777 Pauma Reservation Road
Pauma Valley, California 92061
13) Cher-Ae Heights Bingo and Casino
27 Scenic Drive
Trinidad, California 95570-9767
14) Chicken Ranch Casino
16929 Chicken Ranch Road
Jamestown, California 95327-9779
15) Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino
711 Lucky Lane
Coarsegold, California 93614
16) Chumash Casino Resort
3400 East Highway 246
Santa Ynez, California 93460-9405
17) Cloverdale Rancheria Destination Resort and Casino
Highway 101
Cloverdale, California
18) Colusa Casino Resort
3770 Highway 45
Colusa, California 95932-1267
19) Coyote Valley Casino
7751 North State Street
Redwood Valley, California 95418
20) Desert Rose Casino
901 County Road 56
Alturas, California 96101
21) Diamond Mountain Casino
900 Skyline Drive
Susanville, California 96130
22) Eagle Mountain Casino
681 South Tule Road
Porterville, California 93258
23) Elk Valley Casino
2500 Howland Hill Road
Crescent City, California 95531-9241
24) Fantasy Springs Casino
84-245 Indio Springs Parkway
Indio, California 92203-3499
25) Feather Falls Casino and Lodge
3 Alverda Drive
Oroville, California 95966-9379
26) Garcia River Casino
22215 Windy Hollow Road
Point Arena, California 95468
27) Golden Acorn Casino
1800 Golden Acorn Way
Campo, California 91906
28) Gold Country Casino
4020 Olive Highway
Oroville, California 95966
29) Graton Resort and Casino
288 Golf Course Drive W
Rohnert Park, California 95441
30) Hard Rock Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain
3317 Forty Mile Road
Wheatland, California
31) Harrah’s Northern California Casino
4650 Coal Mine Road
Ione, California 95640
32) Harrah’s Resort Southern California
777 Harrah’s Rincon Way
Valley Center, California 92082
33) Havasu Landing Resort and Casino
1 Main Street
Havasu Lake, California 92363
34) Hidden Oaks Casino
76700 Covelo Road
Covelo, California 95428
35) Jackson Rancheria Casino Resort
12222 New York Ranch Road
Jackson, California 95642
36) Jamul Casino
14145 Campo Road
Jamul, California 91935
37) Konocti Vista Casino Resort, Marina and RV Park
2755 Mission Rancheria Road
Finley, California 95435
38) La Jolla Trading Post and Casino
22003 Highway 76
Pauma Valley, California 92061
39) La Posta Casino
777 Crestwood Rd.
Boulevard, California 91905
40) Lucky 7 Casino
350 North Indian Road
Smith River, California 95567
41) Lucky 7 Fuel Mart
13450 Hwy 101 N.
Smith River, California 95567
42) Lucky Bear Casino
Shopping Center, Highway 96
Hoopa, California 95546
43) Mechoopda Casino Project
Intersection of Highway 99 and Highway 149
Butte County, California
44) Mono Wind Casino
37302 Rancheria Lane
Auberry, California 93602-1060
45) Morongo Casino Resort Spa
49750 Seminole Drive
Cabazon, California 92230-2200
46) Morongo Travel Center
49020 Seminole Drive
Cabazon, California 92230
47) North Fork Rancheria Resort Hotel and Casino
Highway 99 at Avenue 17
Madera, California
48) Pala Casino Spa Resort
11154 Highway 76
Pala, California 92059
49) Pechanga Resort and Casino
45000 Pala Road
Temecula, California 92592-5810
50) Pit River Casino
20265 Tamarack Avenue
Burney, California 96013-4064
51) Quechan Casino Resort
525 Algodones Road
Winterhaven, California 92283
52) Rain Rock Casino
Interstate 5
Yreka, California
53) Red Earth Casino
Hwy 86 and Black Diamond Rd
Salton City, California 92274
54) Red Fox Casino
200 Cahto Drive
Laytonville, California 95454
55) Red Hawk Casino
1 Red Hawk Boulevard
Placerville, California 95667
56) River Rock Casino
3250 Highway 128 East
Geyserville, California 95441
57) Robinson Rancheria Resort, Casino and Bingo
1545 East Highway 20
Nice, California 95464-8619
58) Rolling Hills Casino Resort
2655 Barham Avenue
Corning, California 96021
59) Running Creek Casino
635 E. Highway 20
Upper Lake, California 95485
60) San Manuel Casino
5797 North Victoria Avenue
Highland, California 92346-1763
61) San Pablo Lytton Casino
13255 San Pablo Ave
San Pablo, California 94806 USA
62) Santa Ysabel Resort and Casino
25575 Highway 79, PO Box 600
Santa Ysabel, California 92070
62) Sherwood Valley Casino
100 Kawi Place
Willits, California 95490-4674
63) Sky River Casino
1 Sky River Way
Elk Grove, California 95758
64) Spotlight 29 Casino
I-10 at Dillon Road, 46-200 Harrison Place
Coachella, California, 92236
65) Soboba Casino
23333 Soboba Road
San Jacinto, California 92581
66) Spa Resort Casino
140 North Indian Canyon Drive
Palm Springs, California 92262
67)Sycuan Casino
5485 Casino Way
El Cajon, California 92019-1810
68) Table Mountain Casino
8184 Table Mountain Road
Friant, California 93626
69) Tachi Palace Casino Resort
17225 Jersey Avenue
Lemoore, California 93245-9760
70) Thunder Valley Casino Resort
1200 Athens Avenue
Lincoln California 95648
71) Tortoise Rock Casino
73829 Base Line Rd
Twentynine Palms, California 92277
72) Twin Pine Casino
22223 Highway 29
Middletown, California 95461-9754
73) Valley View Casino
16300 Nyemii Pass Road
Valley Center, California 92082
74) Viejas Casino
5000 Willows Road
Alpine, California 91901-1656
75) Wanaaha Casino
2742 North Sierra Highway
Bishop, California 93514
76) Win-River Resort and Casino
2100 Redding Rancheria Road
Redding, California 96001-5530
77) Winnedumah Win’s Casino
135 South Highway 395
Independence, California 93526
In addition to the Indian casinos listed above, California is also the host to over 70 card rooms, where you can gamble for real money. For an up-to-date list of these rooms and information about them, check out the state’s Attorney General website.
Gambling Online vs. Gambling in a Casino in California
We’ve given you a lot of information about both online gambling sites and land-based gambling establishments. But you might not know yet which one is suited for you. Here are some of the ways you can distinguish and choose between them.
- Some people just like the atmosphere that they get from gambling in person. You can make a night of it at casinos by having food and drinks in between your sessions at the tables or machines. It’s a bit more of a day out or night out on the town kind of thing that can be extremely entertaining, especially if you’re winning.
- Depending on what game you’re playing, you might be able to find a little bit of an advantage from being there in person. For example, if you’re playing poker, you can often tell what other plyers are holding by their facial expressions. If you’re a hardcore player, you might be able to get an edge from being on-site when you gamble.
- Many of the casinos in California have other amenities either attached or nearby, such as hotels, spas, and golf courses. You can visit the casino as part of a larger experience, such as a vacation. There is a lot you can do if you want to take a break from the action and try something else.
- Because of the somewhat strict laws prohibiting commercial casinos, California gambling establishments are limited in the games that they offer. The card rooms are pretty much poker-based, and many of the Indian casinos are somewhat meager in terms of their size. When you choose a California gambling site, you can get the breadth of the grandest casinos right on your screen.
- If you want to gambling on sports, California online sportsbooks are pretty much the only game in town. You can use these sites to get all the action that people would be getting in Nevada sportsbooks. Just choose your sport and a bet, and you won’t need to go anywhere else to make your wager.
- When it comes to real money online gambling in California of any sort, many people look at it as a kind of investment. If you’re that type and you really want to counteract the house edge, online gambling sites in California are your best choice. That’s because they can offer you many more bonuses of a much more substantial nature than you can get at any of the brick and mortar gambling places.
California Gambling FAQ
Is Online Gambling Legal in California?
There is no clear law on the books in California prohibiting online gambling for real money. And the federal government in the United States has been inconsistent in whether or not the Wire Act applies to online gambling. What it all adds up to is that you likely shouldn’t have any legal issues when you gamble online from a California location. If you have any concerns, feel free to contact a law professional in your area to learn more about California online gambling laws.
When Did California Legalize Gambling?
The earliest form of gambling legalized in the state was horse racing gambling, which first came into existence in 1933. Indian casinos came about at the start of the millennium, while card rooms were finally regulated in 1984. They had actually been in existence in the state far before that in a kind of informal fashion without state regulation.
Can You Play Online Casino Games in California?
While the online casino games found in the state won’t actually come from the state, you can still play them within the state’s borders. What that means is that, technically, the games will be coming from offshore CA online gambling establishments. Those establishments are located in areas where online gambling is legal.
Does California Have Commercial Casinos?
By commercial casinos, we mean those that are operated by private enterprises for profit, and the answer is no. There is, however, an opportunity for Indian casinos to operate in the state. Whether or not commercial casinos come into existence in the near future remains to be seen.
Are Card Rooms the Same As California Casinos?
Card rooms and casinos are similar in that they both allow you to gamble for real money in the state. However, card rooms offer only a limited number of games, with poker being the main one. You can’t play slot machines, for example, in a card room.
Why Are There No Commercial Casinos in the State of California?
There are no laws on the books that allow for commercial casinos in the state of California. You won’t come across any properties like the ones you might find in Las Vegas or Atlantic City. They are actually one of the few holdouts in the United States in that respect, although casino-goers can always find plenty of land-based action in the card rooms and Indian casinos in the state. But it doesn’t appear likely that we’ll see any privately-owned casinos at any time soon in the Golden State.
Do Offshore Gambling Sites Operate In California?
Most top gambling sites, including the ones mentioned on this page, allow players from the state of California. That doesn’t mean they’re located in the state; in fact, they’re not. But for all intents and purposes, California players can still play their favorite casino games using these platforms.
Will I Be Arrested for Playing at Offshore Gambling Sites?
One key piece of information to remember about online gambling and its legality (or lack thereof) is that the bettor is not ever the one who will be the target. Even if you somehow stumbled upon a site that is operating illegally and bet there, you wouldn’t have anything to worry about. Instead, it is the site or whatever entity that is operating your bets that has to worry about licensing and following regulations.
Can I Join More Than One California Gambling Site?
There is no rule against joining more than one site for California online gambling for money, whether it’s for sports or casino betting. As a matter of fact, it can be quite advantageous to you; you’ll be able to pocket bonuses from multiple sites and maybe even find better odds for certain games at one site over another. You should make sure, however, that any site that you use stands up to scrutiny as one of the top CA gambling sites.
What Are the Best Online Gambling Sites for California Residents?
Remember that the sites that you choose will be handling your money and your personal information, which means that it is extremely important that you choose them wisely. We’re here to help with that, as we have done all the research on the subject so that you can simply pick one. Head back up to the top of this page to find what we believe are the best California gambling websites.
Future of Online Gambling in California
We’ve spelled out for you what the California gambling scene looks like at the moment, but things are always changing. Different rules come and go, lawmakers try to bring different gambling bills, and the bigger federal landscape affects the state levels. All of this means that you have to keep up with it at all times. But we’ll try to look into the crystal ball and give you an idea of what you might see in terms of California gambling in the near future.
In-House Sports Gambling in California
In 2020, a law was brought up that would legalize sports gambling in the state as far as land-based sportsbooks. Pressure from Indian casinos forced it to be put aside, but the winds of change are definitely blowing in the favor of legalizing sports wagering on a state level in California. The nationwide restrictions are being knocked back, professional sports leagues are starting to embrace it, and there is just so much money to be made from it in hard economic times, all of which means it’s bound to happen soon.
Online Real Money Poker
The hardest thing about passing new gambling laws is that there is always an entity that seems to have vested interest in keeping the status quo. In this case, horse racing leaders are worried that legalized online action on games like poker would have a negative effect on their handle.
More Mobile Gambling Options
California is the place where the whole concept of life in the fast lane first originated, which is why mobile gambling in the state figures to have a promising future. Look for more online gambling sites to emphasize their mobile features as opposed to the standalone desktop site. It seems like it’s only a matter of time before mobile sites get more and more intricate and that bonuses are aimed at the part of the gambling realm to attract those customers used to dealing with their phones, tablets and watches.
Final Words on Gambling in CA
California gambling figures to be a hot topic among those who want to play their favorite casino games and wager on their favorite sports for real money. As the landscape now stands, those looking for variety and more lucrative bonuses should stick with California gambling sites, as they’ll give you all your action with much more convenience than the land-based alternatives. Real money gamblers who aren’t happy with their land-based alternatives in the state can always fall back on the best gambling websites to satisfy them.
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