California is home to one of the most expansive casino offerings across the United States. While the types of casinos in California vary greatly, you will be able to find them up and down the state, whether you are near the border to Mexico, Canada, or anywhere in between. Many of the casinos in California are not similar to what you would find in a city like Las Vegas. Instead of mega-resorts, the majority of these casinos are instead small, and often times they won’t have any machine games whatsoever. A new casino seems to be popping up each year within the state, and California promises to build on its already growing presence in the gaming industry.

1. Best Online Casino For California
2. Internet Gambling In California

Online Casinos That Accept California Residents

Yes, online gambling is legal in California. In fact, California laws don’t prohibit, regulate, or ban any type of online gambling. You can feel free to play on any online casino and enjoy your favorite casino or card games that you can’t find in the state. The only law regarding online gambling in California is the age limit. How We Test the Best Real Money Online Casinos Withdrawing your money smoothly is a key part of our 25-step reviews process when analysing a casino. Playing free games is fun, but when you use. The most accurate list of casinos in California (CA). Find addresses, read reviews and get the best offers on 116 casinos. By continuing to use the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies in order to provide you the best possible experience. TOP-5 online casinos in California. Online gambling in California is made easy with our list of the top 10 online casinos. Enjoy games from the most popular software providers, excellent banking options, helpful customer service representatives, and wonderful bonuses. If you’re looking for the most trusted, safe, and overall best California online casinos, you’re in luck. Our review team has spent countless hours scouring the web for the top sites. At the top of this page, we’ve included a link of the best of the best to ensure you have the greatest online gambling experience while you’re living in.

For more information on gambling online for real money in California, see our California Online Casinos and Gambling Sites page.

California Casinos

Bay 101
Cache Creek Casino Resort
Capitol Casino Sacramento
Commerce
The Gardens
Harrah’s Resort Southern California
Hollywood Park
Hustler
Lucky Chances
M8trix
San Manuel

Gambling in California

With its proximity to Las Vegas and the rest of Nevada’s casinos, one might think that California relies on its neighbor to the east for its casino and gambling needs. However, that is not the case.

California is pretty much on par with states like New Jersey or New York when it comes to land-based gambling-related regulations. The local landscape is packed with tribal casinos – and if that wasn’t enough, California-based poker enthusiasts have plenty of quality card rooms to choose from. Pari-mutuel horse race wagering is also available.

Other than that, California allows live bingo and has a state-operated lottery. The Golden State legislators are still working on new iGaming-friendly regulations, so for the time being local gambling enthusiasts have to stick to offshore sites if they want to play their favorite games online.

The Golden State is home to 69 casinos operated by more than 60 federally recognized Native American tribes. Commercial casinos located off tribal land are illegal, but considering the number of tribal casinos as well as the size and quality of many of them, there is no need for further competition.

The San Manuel Casino in Highland (60 minutes east of Los Angeles) is the largest casino in California and the fourth largest in the United States, with 220,000 square feet of gaming space, 4,200 slot machines, more than 100 table games, and a 32-table poker room open 24/7.

There is a large concentration of casinos in Southern California, with more than 20 in the Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties. Other casinos stretch all the way north, such as the Lucky 7 Casino in Smith River just two miles south of the Oregon border.

The state also offers numerous card rooms, some of which are best described as “almost casinos” – such as the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. Many of these card rooms host table games like blackjack, pai gow, and baccarat, as well as poker rooms. The only aspect that sets them apart from “real” casinos is that they aren’t allowed to host slot machines.

Because of a quirk in the law, craps and roulette games are not allowed at any casino. However, some establishments get around this prohibition by using a deck of cards to mimic the odds of craps and roulette as well as the dice rolls and spins of the ball.

The minimum age for casino gambling in California is 18, but to play at casinos that serve alcohol, you must be at least 21.

Online casinos remain illegal.

Types of Casinos in California

There are two, for all intents and purposes, types of casinos that you will find in California. The most common casino will be what many call a card room. These casinos generally offer a few table game variants, namely blackjack, baccarat, and pai gow, with many of them also offering poker. Some of the card room casinos are known primarily for their poker, while others will only manage to get a few low limit poker games going even on their best days. The majority of the card rooms in California tend to be frequented most often by locals in the area. These are not destination resorts, though there are other casinos in CA that do offer hotels and provide accommodations for those looking to make a vacation out of their trip.

The second type of casino is what the average gambler will be much more accustomed to. Casinos on Native American lands within California offer much more than you will ever find in the card room casinos scattered throughout the state. These locations offer everything, including, but not limited to, slots, video poker, blackjack, roulette, and all other popular table games.

Native American vs Other Casinos

The primary difference between Native American casinos and the other casinos in California is their ability to offer machine games, as well as roulette and craps. There is a catch, however, as there are no dice or balls allowed to be used in California casinos. To circumvent this rule, the casinos that offer craps and roulette administer the games with playing cards. Instead of a ball spinning on the roulette table, the croupier will spin the roulette wheel and it will slap all of the playing cards. Your bet is placed by picking the card in which you think it will stop on. The card is then pulled and the winner is revealed.

The excitement of this form of roulette is certainly less than that of the traditional game, but it is popular nonetheless. In craps, the game is again played with cards in lieu of dice. Cards are turned over to reveal the next “roll,” and the game plays accordingly. Generally speaking, the roulette games in California are more similar to regular casino games, while craps plays very differently, in terms of both pace and game action.

Table Game Fees

If you play in a card room, and then visit a Native American casino, you will notice a striking (and financially damaging) difference. The card rooms charge fees for their games. Usually, the fee is around $1 per $100 wager. This means a $25 and $100 blackjack bet would both be subject to a $1 fee. If you bet $200, the fee would be $2, and so on and so forth. Needless to say, these added fees make the games quite difficult to beat, as you are effectively doubling the house edge in many instances.

The card rooms that charge this fee do so because this is their only means of revenue. The card rooms hire outside companies (known as “The Corporation”) to handle all wagers and risks. Since the room does not benefit from any of your potential losses, they only stand to profit based on your wager size and length of play. If you visit a Native American casino, however, these fees do not exist.

California Sportsbooks & Sports betting

California is taking the necessary steps to bring legal sports betting to the state. A referendum for a constitutional amendment is gaining steam and the necessary signatures, but it likely won’t appear before voters until 2020. If Californians approve the change, the legislature will then need to pass with supermajorities in both houses.

The Native American tribes that operate the state’s casinos present the biggest roadblock to possible legalization.

Steve Stallings, chairman of the California Nations Indian Game Association, commented on the measure, “California voters have, on numerous occasions, confirmed the exclusive right of California tribal governments to operate casino-style games. Legalization of sports betting should not become a backdoor way to infringe upon exclusivity.”

Tribal exclusivity or not, sports betting is currently illegal in California.

Fantasy sports gambling and eSports

The legality of daily fantasy sports has had a rocky history in California.

The good: The California Assembly was the first legislative body in America to approve a bill legalizing and regulating daily fantasy sports, which passed by an overwhelming 62-1 vote.

The bad: The California Senate never took up the bill and killed it before it ever became law.

As a result, DFS is not yet legal in California. However, all DFS sites are in the state and signing up California customers under the belief that DFS requires skill and thus does not constitute gambling.

It’s unclear if and when new DFS legislation will be introduced.

The eSports industry is huge in California, but as of yet, legal wagering on outcomes is not available.

Animal racing

California is one of the largest live horse racing hubs in America.

Along with racing at fairs throughout the state, you can see thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, and harness racing at the following venues:

• Santa Anita Park (Arcadia): Thoroughbred meets from December to June and September to November
  
• Del Mar (Del Mar): Thoroughbred meets from July to early September and late September to December
  
• Los Alamitos (Cypress): Thoroughbred meets in June, July, and December, and Quarter Horse meets year-round
  
• Golden Gate Fields (Berkeley): Thoroughbred meets from January to June and August to December
  
• Cal-Expo (Sacramento): Harness meets from December to May and October to December
  

Along with the off-track wagering options at the above racecourses, the California Horse Racing Board lists 27 other simulcast locations throughout the state.

You must be 18 to place a pari-mutuel wager in California.

There is no greyhound racing in the state.

California Poker Games

As mentioned, California is home to numerous legal poker rooms. The California Bureau of Gambling Control lists 72 legal card rooms operating in the state, grouping them by region and county to make it easy to locate a poker room near you.

Most poker rooms require players to be at least 18. If alcohol is served, the age requirement is 21.

Lottery

The California Lottery has been around since 1985. Along with scratch-off tickets, you can play the following draw games:

• Hot Spot
  
• Daily Derby
  
• Daily 3
  
• Daily 4
  
• Fantasy 5
  
• SuperLotto Plus
  
• Mega Millions (multi-state)
  
• Powerball (multi-state)
  

You must be at least 18 years old to purchase a California Lottery ticket. All prizes of $600 or more are subject to taxation.

Best Online Casino For California

Bingo

While almost all of the tribal casinos in California began as bingo halls, most have closed their bingo operations in favor of the more profitable table games and slot machines allowed by their Class III gaming license. However, 20 tribal casinos still host large bingo games at their facilities.

Charitable gaming laws in California allow qualified non-profit organizations to host bingo games and poker nights for fundraising purposes. Registration costs $100, and the games are restricted to players 21 years and older.

Internet Gambling In California

You can find legal bingo halls in more than 150 cities in California.

History of California Casinos

Card rooms aside, the greater casinos in California first came to fruition in 2000. Each of the non-card room casinos that you visit today made agreements with the state, and their deals are independent. While there is no shortage of Native American casinos, there are some areas where the competition is much less than others. Within the large state, you may travel for two hours and only see one casino, or you may travel 10 minutes and see several, as is the case near Rincon, California, where Harrah’s, Pechanga, Pauma, Valley View, and Pala casinos can all be found within a few minutes of each other.

In addition to card rooms and casinos in California, the state also has a number of horse racing tracks. California is not regarded as a premier destination for horse racing, though Southern California and the Bay Area do have a handful of well-known tracks, including Golden Gate Fields near San Francisco and Santa Anita in the Los Angeles area. These tracks also offer pari-mutuel wagering, and bets can be placed on these races from destinations around the world.

An interesting, and often times surprising, note about California casinos is found in their alcohol offerings. While patrons must be 21 to drink, everyone must pay. The state does not allow free drinks for gamblers, whether you are playing small stakes or high stakes. In addition, guests are not allowed to use their earned comp dollars on alcohol. This is a rule that many new California gamblers find surprising, especially if they have previously visited casinos in other parts of the country, like Atlantic City or Las Vegas.

General Rules

– In California, you must be 21 years of age to gamble at casinos
– In California, you must also be 21 years of age to drink alcohol at casinos
– Smoking availability is dependent on the casino itself, with some offering designated smoking areas
– Alcohol is never comped in California, for play or via the use of comps

The Golden State has a great opening towards wagering, with many people being interested in the phenomenon and wanting to get a piece of the action. Known for the renowned Gold Rush period, with over 300000 people coming in this state, on the prospect of getting rich beyond measures, it makes us wonder: is gambling legal in California? And seeing how the modern days’ Gold Rush is clearly represented by the Internet’s fast-growing online casinos in the US opportunities, sometimes happening overnight, another question is raised: is online gambling legal in California? And if the answer is yes, what are the top 10 online casinos California. And here we are to answer these questions.

Best California Online Casino Sites

Contents

Gambling in California

The Current State of Affairs

There are three main directions to follow when looking at the way gambling is regulated in California that is renowned for its liberal stance on most controversial subjects.

First, there is the issue of land-based casinos. The well-known federal law named Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, dating all the way back to 1988, protects the Native-Americans’ right to host, on their reservations’ territories, casinos that contain all the gambling options available. In this state, there are 109 tribes with many more trying to get recognition. This accounts for 67 recognized tribal casinos spread across the state. It might seem like a high number of new online casinos in CA, especially if comparing with other US states, some of which would be happy to own at least ten such facilities. But, these establishments provide gambling entertainment for over 39 million residents, is the most populous state. It also includes cities renowned for the tourism they attract, Los Angeles alone, gathering more than 48 million people each year. So, even with the high number of California online real money casinos, there seems to be an unexploited potential still.

This takes us to the second point of discussion. Gambling games aren’t allowed elsewhere in the state, besides casinos, with a sole exception. And this makes the gambling laws in CA a bit of an oddity. Gambling games involving cards are allowed to be played in special locations around the state, called card rooms. This exception allowed over 100 poker playing rooms being made available, outside of tribal casinos.

Still, the potential and the interest remain high over what these already established facilities offer, thus there is still room for a California online casino to be opened. However, advanced and quite heated talks have revolved around the online poker issue, with only tangential debates on the possible legislation of a full-rights CA online casino.

The Status of Online Gambling

The Poker Conflict

In a state with liberal views and with an equidistant approach on expressing opinions, things aren’t always going in a fast forward, efficient manner. In fact, they often come to a clash between different groups of interests, both submitting valid points to sustain their opposite convictions.

That being said, when the question arose if is it legal to gamble online in California, two strong groups of supporters took sides in a confrontation of the strong-minded. For the time being, the laws on betting online are similar to what Schrodinger’s legislature might look like: they’re neither legal nor illegal, making them reside in an undefined status. But even though the debate on creating best online casinos with real money for California has never been a seriously backed discussion, CA law-makers have had an intense dispute over making online poker legal in California.

As with every story, there are two sides. The first is the group that supports the regulation of online poker and lobbies the passing of such bills that’ll allow that to happen. These are the same interested operators, tribal and commercial alike, that have signed a deal with PokerStars, to enter into a partnership that would prove to be beneficial for both parties involved: the first would profit out of using the world’s largest poker website’s infrastructure, design, graphic, software and clients database, while the website would have access to an untapped, large category of paying customers.

Side number two is made out of the better part of tribal casino operators, which fear that the allowance of PokerStars in the market they’re currently dominating that of poker gambling is likely to ensure a drastic cut out of their market quota, allowing the feared competitor to dominate the California poker stage.

For now, it would seem that the second group has taken the upper hand in this battle. Besides keeping the status quo, they managed to include the concept of “bad actor” in online poker regulations. This clause claims that for the period of time that gambling websites underwent the UIGEA federal law, some sites, PokerStars being specifically mentioned amongst them, kept on accepted money from US payers. This might make these sites undesirable and ban them from the CA gambling scene for good.

Online Casinos Regulations

But, in the end, the simple question remains: can you gamble online in California, can you play real money mobile slots? Fact is, that even though the matter is kept in the grey area, with no decisive conclusion on other sides, no operator or gaming software provider risks setting up real money online casinos in CA. Still, being able to gamble online legally has never been easier. Taking advantage of the hesitation that US lawmakers have on determining the faith of this sort of business, a number of offshore-based casinos offer their services to most US citizens, California residents included.

Offshore online gambling, as exotic as it sounds, means no borderline illicit methods. It’s just that the websites which offer Californians the opportunity to gamble online, have gained licenses in other jurisdictions, which take on a lighter approach on regulating gambling. Countries such as Canada, Curacao, Malta offer the license with greater ease, but this doesn’t mean they take the respecting of safety measures, lightly. For a higher degree of security, try to connect and play only on the websites that were previously carefully checked and vouched for. And Bovada is one of these websites. Bovada is legal in California so you are welcome to try it!

• Top 1 USA online casino
• Fast payouts

Offline Gambling Options

Oddities and Innovative Games

The fact that card games are allowed, while other games using devices are not, such as roulette or craps, has made for some innovative ways of playing the traditional games, basically creating new and even popular versions. Online gambling in the USA has had a kick out of enlisting these new games in their offer, with a rekindled interest in their array of gambling options.

For example, where the game of craps is concerned, there are two decks of six cards that simulate the roll of dice on each bet. Another version sees the other way around, with the roll of dice establishing which of the cards are to be turned and used.

Also, the law sees that card rooms can’t offer the regular type of blackjack, which is only designated to be played in casinos. Ingenuity strikes once more, with Californians reshaping the game into a new version, where the highest number of point added is 22, instead of what the classic game of blackjack proposes, which is 21.

Tribal Casinos

With more than 50 tribal casinos, the question of whether or not are casinos legal in California becomes redundant. These casinos put together make for the heart of California slot machines, totalling more than 70000 devices. With this impressive number of machinery, it might not look like it, but there is still untapped potential and an increasing interest for this sort of gaming, making a strong point towards the legalization of online gambling in California.

Poker Rooms

We’ve mentioned before about the wide-spread of poker rooms across the state, under the protection of California casino laws, as long as they only offer the card games specified in the bills. The intense lobby towards legalizing online poker rooms as well, even if they’re stand-alone or part of an online casino in California, is bound to not be left without an answer, sooner or later.

Others

Other sorts of gambling include lottery, with tickets that can be bought for Powerball and Multi Millions. Also, charitable gaming, which only includes bingo, as being the only one accepted. California online gambling laws still haven’t figured out a way to add value and help the expansion of gambling, the way that all the other forms should complement the main attractions.

What Does the Future Hold?

Online Poker

Bills are pushed towards being passed, with generous efforts on behalf of PokerStars, whose main interest is regulating poker in California, online being its main focal point. For example, trying to raise awareness and making people decide whether is online gambling legal in California a good thing or not, it went on the Responsible iPoker campaign. Many renowned players and famous celebrities went to various card rooms in order to promote the campaign message.

Daily Fantasy Sports

Another point to be stipulated in the online gambling California laws, which at this moment is not clearly mentioned. Being in the indecisive part of the Internet regulations, two of the biggest sites of daily fantasy sports are currently operating unrestricted in California.

Sports Booking

Following the famed decision of the Supreme Court, which is bound to influence the whole online gambling USA stage, on making it available for lawmakers of each state to decide upon the future of sports betting, a general feeling of optimism is felt on the subject in CA. Even the software platforms for online sports betting in California are ready to be put to use. The only thing left to do is that the different sides of tribal operators to agree on a common plan.

You Might Also be Interested in:

Oregon online casinos
Nevada state online casinos
Arizona online casinos

❓ Is it illegal to gamble in California?

No. Some restrictions are in place, and not all games can be found at any given location, while also on the matter of online casinos California has yet to decide, but there are a large number of available legal gambling options.

❓ Can I gamble online in California?

Placing bets in a CA online casino is a touchy topic of discussion, and while the difference in opinions of various groups of interests, makes it a risky endeavour, there are other options to choose from. Websites headquartered outside of the state are a safe choice, given they respect the security and licensing measures required of any online casino worldwide.

❓ Are online casinos legal in CA?

Unfortunately, owning, maintaining or operating an online casino in CA is outlawed. However, the laws on online gambling in California don’t say anything about playing games at such an establishment, making it perfectly legal to approach Internet casinos based in other countries, which accept CA players.

❓ Is getting arrested for gambling online in CA a real risk?

The rules of online betting in California only stipulates it as illegal the operating of virtual casinos. Persons wagering in these forms of gaming operators is not against the law and is not punishable in anyways.

❓ How old do I need to be to start betting in California?

Most games allow an 18 years old lowest limit, some poker clubs as well. Most of the card rooms, however, accept only players above 21 years old. This is also the recommended legal internet gambling age required in this state.

❓ The winnings on online casinos can be withdrawn in real money?

USA online gambling market assures players that their winnings can be taken out of the online account in real money. Online casinos with California residents’ acceptance also ensure customers that their money will find a way back into their pockets.

❓ Any foreseeable modifications to laws towards permitting online gambling?

California online gambling laws are on the move towards changing. First, the online poker regulations must pass and perhaps the 2019 bill is going to be far luckier than the previous ones.