California Online Gambling

California is home to almost 70 casinos, all operated by Native American tribes. As such, California boasts the largest tribal gambling market in the entire US. Slots are the main attraction, as California law forbids craps, roulette, and other casino games involving dice or a ball. That said, many casinos have come up with workarounds like “California roulette,” a game that features a spinning deck of cards. Meanwhile, real money online casinos are illegal in California. The best options for those wanting to play casino games online are social and sweepstakes casinos. Sites like Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, and Funzpoints employ virtual currencies to offer cash prizes under sweepstakes laws.

Card rooms have a long, rich history in California. Indeed, during the middle decades of the 20th century, the Gardena card rooms were the only legal alternative for live poker in the US to those in Las Vegas. Sometimes called casinos, these rooms primarily feature poker, although the larger ones also offer other games like Caribbean stud, baccarat, and a version of blackjack. Since California law forbids house-banked card games, all of these card games are designed as player-versus-player games. Currently, there are nearly 100 card rooms in the state. The largest is the Commerce Casino, with more than 200 tables.

Pari-mutuel wagering on horse races is legal in California. The state hosts several highly rated thoroughbred racetracks, including Santa Anita Park and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in the southern part of the state and Golden Gate Fields near San Francisco. Los Alamitos Race Course is also a favorite destination for fans of quarter horse racing. California also allows advance deposit wagering on horse races taking place around the world. Bettors can wager on races at several off-track betting parlors in the state. They can also place their bets online at ADW sites like TVG and TwinSpires.

California is one of many states to neither specifically forbid nor allow daily fantasy sports contests. Lawmakers have introduced DFS bills in the past, though none has advanced. In any case, DFS sites like DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo Fantasy Sports, and FantasyDraft all serve Californians. In fact, California comprises one of the largest DFS markets in the US. There are an estimated 120,000 players in the state contributing more than $200 million in DFS entry fees each year. That total comprises about 10% of all DFS players in the US.

The California State Lottery began selling tickets in 1985 to fund public education. In addition to a variety of scratch-off games (“scratchers”), the lottery offers several draw games. These include in-state games like Fantasy 5, Daily 4, Daily 3, Daily Derby, Hot Spot, and the popular SuperLotto Plus. California also participates in the big multi-jurisdictional drawing games, Powerball and Mega Millions. Thanks to California state law, the prize amounts for both Powerball and Mega Millions are pari-mutuel, meaning in CA they differ from the fixed prizes available to players from other states. You must purchase California Lottery tickets at lottery retailers (i.e., no online sales).

Sports betting is not yet among the legal gambling options in the state. Even so, there is significant interest in having California join the many other states who have legalized sports betting since the US Supreme Court lifted the federal ban on doing so in 2018. Those states include all three that border California, as Nevada, Arizona, and Oregon each have legal sports betting. Current sports betting proposals in CA cover both retail and online options, with California’s tribal casinos, card rooms, racetracks, and sports teams all interested in getting involved.