The legality of gambling in California is not a black-and-white issue. Instead, specific games and specific aspects of gameplay are classified as legal or illegal, creating a gaming landscape that is unique to the Golden State.

Background: Legal gambling in California

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The following types of gambling are currently legal and regulated in California:

• Tribal casinos
• Card rooms
• Pari-mutuel betting on horse races, including off-track betting (OTB) and online advance-deposit wagering
• Charitable gaming
• CA state lottery

Tribal casinos

The federal government passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) in 1998, which formalized terms around gaming on tribal lands and paved the way for Native American casinos throughout the United States.

California further formalized Indian gaming in 2000 when 64.5% of voters supported Proposition 1A, Gambling on Tribal Lands. This amendment authorized the state to negotiate “compacts” with federally recognized Indian tribes to establish gambling facilities on Native American land.

Each compact agreement was negotiated separately with different tribes – considering each tribe’s economics and infrastructure – and included specific terms about taxes and regulations. This amendment gave Native American tribes exclusive rights to operate Las Vegas-style casino games in California.

Tribal casinos in California are authorized to offer slot machines and house-banked card games, unlike California’s card rooms.

Craps and roulette, which are illegal in the state because they utilizedice and wheels to determine the outcome, are also not allowed at tribal casinos. Some tribal casinos have developed versions of those games using cards instead of dice and balls as a workaround.

There are currently 60 licensed tribal casinos recognized by the California Gaming Control Commission.

A complete list of tribal casinos and their locations is available here.

Card rooms

Poker is not illegal according to California law, and the state has been home to legal card rooms for more than 150 years since the state’s inception.

Card rooms, also known as “Californiacasinos” or “cardclubs,” can be found throughout the state, making California a hot spot for live poker games and tournaments.

An important caveat for California card rooms is that all house-banked games are illegal in the state, except for games offered by tribal casinos. Players acting as the bank can be tricky and unfamiliar, so card rooms often hire third-party “proposition players” to act as the bank.

In addition to poker, card rooms offer “California games,” which are card games modified to comply with California’s gaming laws.

Examples of California games offered at card rooms include:

• 21st-century Baccarat
• 21st-century Blackjack Switch
• Casino War
• Crazy 4 Poker
• EZ Baccarat
• Fortune Pai Gow Poker
• Let It Ride
• Mississippi Stud
• Pai gow poker
• Pan 9
• Pai gow tiles
• Three-card poker
• Ultimate Texas Hold ’em

There are currently 89 licensed card rooms recognized by the California Gaming Control Commission.

Here is a list of California card rooms, including each one’s address and size (number of card tables).

Pari-mutual betting on horse racing

Voters in California voted to legalize betting on horse races through a ballot referendum in the 1933 election.

Off-track betting (OTB) and online advance-deposit wagering have since been legalized, too. In 2001, the state passed legislation to allow telephone and online wagering on the races.

Five tracks in the state host races year-round, fairground tracks to host races seasonally, and satellite betting facilities are available throughout the state. A list of official horse racing locations and advanced deposit wagering locations can be viewed here.

Charitable gaming

California voters approved an amendment in 1976 that legalized charitablebingogames and another amendment in 2000 that allow charitable raffles.

In 2007, the state passed legislation permitting poker night fundraisers.

Lottery

When voters passed Proposition 37, the California State Lottery Act of 1984 gave Californians legalized lottery.

The ballot measure was approved by 58% of voters, with the understanding that lottery proceeds would provide funding for public schools and colleges.

California gambling laws & regulations

The California Penal Code, enacted in 1872, dictates some of the rules that have shaped the gaming landscape in the state.

Below is an excerpt from the penal code that lists specific games that are illegal. Poker is not on the list of prohibited games, which gave rise to California card rooms.

California Penal Code

CHAPTER 10. Gaming [330]

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.

California-specific gambling guidelines

Critical aspects of California’s laws dictate how the state can offer games:

• House-banked games are illegal. However, this does not apply to tribal casinos.
• Games that determine a game’s outcome using dice (like craps) or wheels (like roulette) are illegal. This law also applies to tribal casinos.

Legal disputes between tribal casinos, card rooms

After years of conflict and escalating tensions between tribal casinos and California’s card rooms, Indian tribes have filed two lawsuits in close succession.

The disputes center around the way card rooms have been handling the restrictions on house-banked games.

Tribes argue that commercial card rooms are exploitingloopholes in the law to effectively offer an experience similar to what Indian casinos provide through house-banked games, even though tribal casinos hold exclusive rights to providing such games in California. Card rooms maintain that they are operating within the legal boundaries dictated by the state.

Both sides argue that they are within their rights and in the right on the issue. Both parties also have a vested interest in protecting their share of the lucrative gambling business in the state.

The San Diego Superior Court lawsuit in 2018

Two Indian tribes filed a lawsuit in November 2018 in San Diego Superior Court because card rooms are offering card games that do not comply with state regulations.

The claim was filed against some of the most famous and successful card rooms in California, including Commerce Casino, Bicycle Hotel & Casino and Hawaiian Gardens, as well as third-party proposition players.

The tribes that filed the suit claimed they are losing approximately $14 million in annual revenue to the (illegal) games operated by card rooms and are calling on the state to enforce the associated laws.

Bo Mazzetti, the chairman of the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians, made the following statement about the lawsuit they filed:

“I would like to make it clear, we are not challenging the right of a business to operate, but rather the non-compliance with California law… If the California Department of Justice and the Gambling Control Commission had enforced the current laws that exist, we would not have taken this action. We have been trying to work with the state for over 13 years on this issue. Unfortunately, this lack of enforcement gives us no other option but to pursue legal remedies.”

On the flip side, the card rooms maintain that they are operating within the bounds of California state law.

Ryan Stone, the owner of three card rooms, made the following statement:

“These tribes continually make false statements about the legality of our business in an effort to shut down the card room industry, which supports our cities and provides living wage jobs to thousands of people in California. This lawsuit is the latest attempt to interfere with a legal industry that has existed in California for m Both player-dealer games and blackjack-style games have been approved by the California Department of Justice and played at California card rooms without harm to or complaint from the public for decades.”

A federal lawsuit in 2019

Three tribes sued the state of California in federal court in January.

The tribes accused the California Gambling Control Commission and Bureau of Gambling Control of failure to uphold Proposition 1A, Gambling On Tribal Lands (passed in 2000), which authorized the state to establish exclusive compacts with tribes in California to offer Las Vegas-style casino games.

Anthony Roberts, chairman of the Yocha Dehe Tribe, stated:

“State law, the Constitution and our compacts are all very clear about our exclusive right to operate house-banked, casino-style card games.We did not want to file this suit. But card rooms continue to play and brazenly advertise these games, even though it’s patently illegal for them to do so. We are asking the state to do its job and enforce the gaming laws and rules California’s voters and state Legislature have put in place.”

Gambling economics

Tribal casinos have been highly successful in California.

A 2016 California Tribal Government Gaming Impact study concluded that tribal casinos in California generate $7.8 billion in revenue annually, employs 63,000 people and contribute $400 million in annual tax revenue.

California card rooms are a $1 billion industry that employs approximately 22,000 people.

Card rooms have been an economic and cultural fixture in California’s communities and urban areas, which are not served locally by casinos on tribal lands, for more than 150 years.

Legal gambling expansion disputes in California

In recent years, proposed legislation addressing online poker and sports betting have stalled due to disagreements between tribal casinos and card rooms as to the interested parties’ rights and jurisdictions.

Online Gambling In California

Tribal casinos have threatened to blocklegislation until their disputes about card room gaming operations are sufficiently addressed.

Is online gambling legal in California?

Currently, California is not considering any active legislation to legalize and regulate online casinos in the state.

Proposals for regulating online poker and online sports betting in the state have been met with disagreements between tribal casinos, card rooms and racetracks about who would benefit from offering these games. The outlook for legal online gambling in California is unclear at this time.

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

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

Gambling In California Laws

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.

Legalized Sports Gambling In California

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

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/

Online Gambling In California

Gambling In California Age

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!