Online Casinos in California
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  1. Online Casino California Lawyer
  2. Online Casino California Laws
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  4. Cache Creek Indian Casino California

Is Online Gambling Legal in California The only kind of licensed wagering one can partake in online within California at the present time is horse racing, with a number of sites such as TVG and Youbet offering options on this. But your options most likely won’t remain so limited for very much longer. Legal California Gambling & Poker Laws. An Overview of Gambling Laws in the State Of California. California has a history of gambling going all the way back to the Gold Rush of the 1840’s. Today there is a thriving gambling ecosystem in place including horse racing, tribal casinos, poker rooms and lottery games. California Gambling Law, Regulations, and Resource Book – 2019, pdf The following regulations have recently been approved by the Office of Administrative Law. The regulations below are not included in the most recent version of the California Gambling Law and Regulations. California is a strange state because there do not seem to be any laws concerning unlawful gambling that could even pertain to online gambling as a player. Obviously, there are a number of laws concerning acting as an operator in terms of online gambling. Relaxed Standpoint. Speaking specifically about card rooms or clubs, California law does not allow them to directly accept wagers from patrons. Many of these card rooms began as poker rooms where players play against each other and the 'house' accepts antes for each. Online Casinos in California. Many states in the US are currently looking into passing laws to officially allow gambling online. With California’s large population, this would likely be a huge success. However, for any law like this to be allowed, it would likely need the backing of the Native American casinos.

On this page we take a detailed look at the capacity and legality of California online casinos. The current legal situation is one of the least defined out of all jurisdictions in the United States. California is a unique exception as gambling online is not yet legal, yet there is no law that explicitly prohibits online gambling for residents of the state. The important details that result from this ambiguity in the law are; gambling online in California is free to play and you will not receive any negative repercussions. Secondly, due to the absence of a clearly defined legal framework, the industry is unregulated and without the player protections that you can expect in a regulated gambling state.

  • We use trusted sources such as: The Los Angeles Times and the NBC Bay Areato stay on top of all industry related news and developments.
  • Our team of experts is well-acquainted with the entire gambling industry including specific casino games such as roulette and have created an online slots guide.
  • We regularly review the latest legal advancements in the state, and closely monitor the progress of Bill SB1485 at the California State Legislature and the California Gambling Control Commission in Sacramento.
  • Los Angeles
  • NBC
  • California Legislature
  • California Gambling Control

Available Casino Games in California

The wealth of casino games available to state residents is somewhat surprising given the lack of a well-defined state regulator. In California you’re free to access online casinos offering Roulette, Slots, Blackjack, Poker and State Lottery. Despite online casinos not being completely legal, there are many online gambling operators that accept players residing in the state of California.

  • Roulette: available in both European and USA format.
  • Slots: enjoy a wide range of high-quality slot games.
  • Blackjack: one of the most popular card games in California.
  • Poker: is due to receive full state legalization imminently.
  • State Lottery: can be played online or in local vendors.

Biggest State Land-Based Casinos

Despite the impediment of the state senate to introduce legislation for California online casinos, there are indeed many licensed land-based casinos all over the state. These venues allow residents to enjoy a whole plethora of casino games, slot machines and sports betting facilities under one roof. With online casinos being fully accessible to Californians the vast majority of gambling is conducted online; leading to calls for an increase in the way customers can gamble with state licensed land-based casinos. In a state that is considered strongly liberal, it is surprising to see how stalled the legalization process has become.

  1. Pechanga Resort & Casino: 45000 Pechanga Parkway, CA
  2. Thunder Valley Casino: 1200 Athens Avenue, CA
  3. Table Mountain Casino: 8184 Table Mountain Rd, CA
  4. Barona Casino & Resort: 1932 Wildcat Canyon Rd, CA
  5. Pala Casino Resort: 11154 Highway 76, CA

History of Casino Gambling in California

The state of California is one that has a long and vibrant history with gambling. Prospectors back in the 1800’s following the Californian Gold Rush took a huge gamble to travel across the country in search of riches – and many were known to gamble in the notorious card rooms. Nowadays, focused efforts are being made to legalize online gambling. More information can be gathered from our California gambling page. Meanwhile you can follow the history timeline below for a succinct resume of the important events.

California Casino Laws History and Facts
YearEvent
1984California takes steps to legislate the vibrant card rooms industry which up until 1984 had largely been in a legal grey area. Formalizing these into a legal framework gave legitimacy to gaming entities that had existed since the gold rush.
2001The turn of the century saw a shift in political attitudes, shifting from a deeply liberal agenda toward a conservative policy of granting Native American communities an exclusive monopoly on land-based casinos. In 2001 the first land-based casinos were established in the state, all of which were exclusively owned by Native Americans.
2007The heartstrings were targeted in 2007 as gambling legalization advocates rammed through an agreement that made poker games raising money for charitable causes exempt from federal legal blocks. This ultimately has been further bolstered by the pending bill SB1485 to fully legalize the popular card game.
2012The bill falters after 2 years in the state house as lawmakers fail to agree on details of the new regulation. The societal impact on Native Americas who rely on their exclusive monopoly rights to poker gambling to raise capital is proving to be an extremely divisive and contentious issue.
2018In the wake of the watershed 2018 Supreme Court decision to strike down the ban on sports gambling in the US, there is an active effort to reach a unilateral agreement in the Californian State government to launch a fully regulated online gambling industry. The advocates cite increased tax revenues and free-market principals as core reasons for the move towards online gambling legalization.

Casino Gambling Age in California

The issue of minors accessing gambling products is one of the major bottleneck points in the current debate in the California State legislature. In land-based casinos within the Californian state it is possible to enter the premises at 18 years old. Although, this remains a minority, and the majority of land-based casinos will demand 21 years old as the minimum age for the clientele.

  • Alcohol Age
    Alcohol in California is legal from 21 years old.
  • Marijuana is sold legally in California to persons over 21 years old.

Responsible Gambling and Addiction Prevention

One of the most important aspects of online gambling is promoting a safe and responsible culture. Without the right protections, the industry can be destructive on a societal and mental health level for disadvantaged communities. Currently, due to the lack of regulation surrounding the online gambling in California, there is very few organizations promoting responsible gambling and assisting individuals that have addiction problems.

Can I Play Without Deposit?

There are very few casino sites in the world that will allow players to play without making a deposit. Even in the most liberalized and open betting markets in Western Europe this is rarely possible. The only possibility of playing without a deposit is using trial funds, essentially fake money, that will give you a chance to test out the most popular games on the casino without making a financial commitment. As regulation looms in California, players should look out for no deposit casino sites that give you this free taste opportunity.

Upcoming Casino Regulation and Expected Changes

There are many delicate issues regarding the Native American population that prevent sweeping law changes for California online casinos. However, the advantages for a regulated gambling industry are being realized. With California being the largest state in terms of its 39 million inhabitants, there is a strong interest from gambling companies to infiltrate this market. In the coming months we expect to see a collaboration between the state and private sector to advance the legal status of online gambling in California from its current grey area into fully legal. Contrary to that, the New Jersey casino laws are ones that allow this type of activity much to the delight of the state’s residents.

Casino Guides for Nearby States

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?

RankOnline CasinoKey InfoBonus InfoVisit Casino
#1
  • Tons of Games to Choose From
  • Quick Payouts
  • High Quality Graphics
#2
  • Newly Established Casino
  • Lots of Software Providers
  • Very Fast Payouts
#3
  • Strong Bonus Offers
  • Established in 2015
  • Offers 7 Language Options
#4
  • New Games Regularly
  • Multiple Languages
  • Great Bonus Offers
#5
  • Strong Bonuses & Promotions
  • Caters to Many Languages
  • Fast Cashout Times

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!

Just because an online casino says it services US customers does not mean it is a good fit for California gamblers. In order for us to recommend an online casino to you, we need to know for sure that it services California gamblers.

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.

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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.

There is no specific law or set of laws making it illegal for CA residents to play casino games online but, as is the case in most of the United States, there are no laws regulating the industry either.

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.

While California law does not allow for casino games like roulette and slots to be played off Native American land, it does facilitate the playing of poker games such as Texas Hold ‘em and Omaha.

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

CasinoAddressPhone
Pechanga Resort & Casino45000 Pechanga Parkway(877) 7112-WIN
Cache Creek Casino14455 CA-16(800) 452-8181
San Manuel Casino777 San Manuel Blvd(800) 359-2464
Thunder Valley Casino1200 Athens Avenue(916) 408-7777
Viejas Casino & Turf Club5000 Willows Road(800) 847-6537
Morongo Casino Resort49750 Seminole Drive (800) 252-4499
Pala Casino Resort11154 Highway 76(877) 946-7252
Red Hawk Casino1 Red Hawk Boulevard(888) 573-3495
Barona Casino & Resort1932 Wildcat Canyon Rd(888) 722-7662
Table Mountain Casino8184 Table Mountain Rd(800) 541-3637

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/
What Is the Legal Age to Play at online casinos in California?
In California, the minimum age for participation in lottery games is 18 years old, but one must be 21 to play at the state’s card rooms. Because there are no laws in effect at the present moment, we feel safe saying that one should be at least 21 years of age before they play at California online casinos.
What Are the Best Online Casinos to Play at in California?
Casino california bay area
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 California or visiting the west coast.
Yes, online blackjack is currently legal in California at the casino sites we recommend on this page. All of the operators listed offer many popular variants of blackjack, including single and double deck, Spanish 21, progressive blackjack, and others.
Slots are also completely legal in California and can be enjoyed at one of the many California online casinos. All of these gambling sites offer a wide variety of games such as video slots, reel slots, progressives, and bonus rounds from leading providers.
Why Is Craps (Dice) Illegal in California Land-Based Casinos?
Presently, craps is prohibited in land-based casinos in the state, as regulators feel there is no skill involved in the game and it’s too risk-centric for players. That being said, you are free to play craps online from California without restrictions at sites like Cherry Gold Casino, one of our top rated site.
Similar to craps, roulette is currently banned from land-based casinos in CA, due to the fact there is very little skill involved for players. It’s also viewed as having too high of a house edge against players. There are electronic variants that are available in some land-based casinos in California. If you do want to play the game from inside California state lines, finding an online casino site is the way to go. All of our recommended CA casinos on this page do offer the ability for players from CA to play roulette online, so that’s your best bet if you want to play from within the state.
As is often the case in the United States, depositing funds can vary. Most often, the preferred methods by which you can fund an online casino account is by way of credit/debit card or by bank transfer. Other forms of deposit may be accepted, but these two tend to be the most common. In many online casinos open to California residents, other ways of depositing funds in online casinos include Money Gram or Western Union transfers, as well as cryptocurrency like Bitcoin.

Online Casino California Lawyer

Though you may be able to deposit by way of credit or debit card, it is not likely that California residents will be able to cash out their casino winnings via this method. Instead, you will find that most online casino sites transmit winnings by way of paper check or direct bank transfer. You can usually also request to be paid your casino winnings by bitcoin.

Online Casino California Laws

Is Dealing with Online Casinos in California Safe?

Indiana Casino Laws

If you know that there exists no framework for regulated and legalized online casino play in California, you might be wondering how anyone is able to trust the many sites that offer their services in the state. The fact of the matter is that, while you may not be able to take an online casino to court in California, a small bit of due diligence will lead you to trustworthy, reputable online casinos in California. Plenty of well-respected names in the online casino industry operate in CA, and these are names that can be trusted.

Cache Creek Indian Casino California

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!