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!

All of the major book makers you're used to - William Hill, Ladbrokes Coral, Betfair etc. have affiliated online poker rooms although the best action is still at the major online poker sites mentioned above. Most European poker rooms have very good volume for the most popular limits of NLHE, such as $1/$2, especially at peak hours.

What Are the Top Real Money Online Casinos in California?

Rank	Online Casino	Key Info	Bonus Info	Visit 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!

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

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.

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

Casino	Address	Phone
Pechanga Resort & Casino	45000 Pechanga Parkway	(877) 7112-WIN
Cache Creek Casino	14455 CA-16	(800) 452-8181
San Manuel Casino	777 San Manuel Blvd	(800) 359-2464
Thunder Valley Casino	1200 Athens Avenue	(916) 408-7777
Viejas Casino & Turf Club	5000 Willows Road	(800) 847-6537
Morongo Casino Resort	49750 Seminole Drive	(800) 252-4499
Pala Casino Resort	11154 Highway 76	(877) 946-7252
Red Hawk Casino	1 Red Hawk Boulevard	(888) 573-3495
Barona Casino & Resort	1932 Wildcat Canyon Rd	(888) 722-7662
Table Mountain Casino	8184 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/

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.

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!

CA is home to nearly 100 real money poker card rooms, 68 tribal casinos and a plethora of horseracing tracks and thanks to all those real cash gambling options, many people say California, and not Las Vegas, is the gambling capital of the United States. High stakes poker betting pros and rich businessmen alike flock to the state to play in some of the biggest real cash poker and casino games and tournaments in the world. Gigantic casinos like the Commerce attract millions of tourists to California each and every year, rivalling historic landmarks like the Hollywood Walk of Fame in popularity. Remember though, all these 2020 betting options are at land based casinos not poker websites or Internet casinos.

Due to its nearly 38 million residents, California is on the radar of just about every state that has already passed, or is in the process of passing, laws that legalize regulated Internet gambling and lawful real money Internet poker. Interstate compacts involving California would do wonders for the popularity of online poker websites in the United States.

However, although committees have been trying to hash out a plan that would bring legal Internet poker to California for some time, no new gambling legislation has actually been passed yet. But make no mistake; California is undoubtedly the state most likely to pass an iGaming bill in the very near future and open up casinos and poker websites to CA residents.

Avid poker players in The Golden State will have no trouble at all signing up for an account at any one of our real money US poker sites.

PokerStars Forges Historic Partnership With Morongo Tribe, California Cardrooms

Quick Jump

• 6 The Facts

In a joint press release submitted by the Rational Group, the Morongo Tribe of Mission Indians and three of California’s largest real cash poker cardrooms (the Commerce, the Bicycle and the Hawaii Gardens Casino), the group announced its plans to bring regulated online poker to the Golden State. PokerStars would not only serve as a sub-contractor for the conglomerate, but become their front facing brand and provide lawful Internet poker to betting fans in CA.

In a display of impeccable timing, the release was issued during a hearing held by the State Assembly’s Committee on Governmental Organization to discuss the fiscal and public policy implications of legalizing online real money poker in California.

Currently in 2020, the bills up for consideration by legislatures both call for a “bad actor” clause, which would effectively eliminate the world’s biggest Internet poker gambling provider, PokerStars from the equation.

The bad actor issue may inevitably delay the passage of a regulatory gaming act in California and cause serious delays on bringing legit poker gambling on the Internet to long suffering players in CA.

Latest California Poker News

Can Players from California Play Online Poker?

Yes. Although online Internet poker will likely not be regulated by the state of California for another year, players are free to sign up with over a dozen real-money poker websites offering real money poker gambling to United States citizens, which is great news for poker gambling fans. Compare this to other states, like New York and Washington that make it difficult for players to start betting on Internet poker anywhere.

Is Online Poker Legal in California?

Although we are not an authority on the legality of Internet poker in California, we have researched this issue extensively. Listed below are several points of interest concerning 2020‘s current California real cash gambling laws:

• Online poker is not regulated by the state of California.
• Commercial casinos are authorized by the state of CA, however games where the outcome of each bet is determined by dice alone, such as craps, cannot be operated by card rooms that offer games like real money poker.
• Tribal casinos are authorized by the state and can house non-card games like craps.
• Sports betting is not authorized by the state of California.
• Various forms of lotteries are authorized by the state
• All forms of real money poker gambling are authorized by the state, except online Internet poker.
• There is no California law directly prohibiting or criminalizing the act of placing a wager at a poker websites online.
• Internet horseracing is authorized.

For a more comprehensive look at California gambling laws, interested parties are encouraged to read the latest edition of the Gambling Law, Regulations, and Resource Information – 2020 edition ^[1].

Poker players in California are advised to research the CA state laws before concluding as to whether online Internet poker is legal or not. Remember, there is a distinct difference between something being ‘prohibited’ and ‘non-regulated.’ Brian Mickers wrote a great article on the topic of lawful poker websites; one that provides in-depth insight into the issue of Internet poker [2].

• U. S. Poker Site
• Compatibillity
• Editor Rating
• Deposit Bonus

• Very player friendly
• Generous cashback
• Great mobile play

Recent Developments

In 2013, three separate pieces of real cash Internet poker legislation were introduced in California. They were:

• SB 51 – Senator Roderick Wright’s “Internet Gambling Consumer Protection and Public-Private Partnership Act of 2013”
• SB 678 – Senator Lou Correa’s “Authorization and Regulation of Internet Poker and Consumer Protection Act of 2013”
• The Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2013 – An online poker bill sponsored by eight California tribes.

The Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2015 was filed by Assemblyman Mark Gatto. The bill would legalize Internet poker but keep the ‘bad actor’ clause which bans poker operators who have violated the law before.

Besides Gatto’s 2015 Act, the he aforementioned lawful poker bills have all failed to generate much momentum in government, largely because of the influx of infighting among California State’s varied gambling interests at the time. Tribal casinos enjoy several tax advantages in the real money betting world, and may not be willing to give up a piece of revenue generated through real cash poker website profits. They’re also adamantly against interstate compacts and racetrack participation. Others feel that online Internet poker companies should only be allowed to operate through card rooms based in CA and bring betting fans a slice of the Internet Texas Hold’em action.

That, and there was little evidence from other states besides California as to the viability of a lawful Internet poker market.

Joe Correa made SB 678 severable. This means that if any portion of the gambling websites bill is deemed unacceptable it can be made invalid immediately. By taking this urgent measure, Correa hoped to get SB 678 enacted into law before the September 6, 2013 deadline. It didn’t work, and the issue of legit real money Internet poker was put off until 2014 [3].

Then, at the February 2014 legislative deadline, two new poker gambling website bills were introduced:

• SB 1366: Effectively a rehash of SB 678; backed by San Manuel Band of Mission Indians
• AB 2291: Introduced by Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, AB 2291 is essentially the assembly version of SB 1366.

Unfortunately, all parties could not reach an agreement about the terms of the new regulations before the end of the 2014 session, meaning the bills were dumped.

In December 2014, Assemblyman Mike Gatto took over the online poker cause and filed a new bill, AB9. Its full title is the Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2015 and it aims to bring regulated legal online poker to CA.

Notable aspects of the bills include:

• The real cash poker Internet bill would require provisions that would ensure the safety of player funds.
• The minimum age to play online Internet poker in the state of California would be 21.
• Players must be located within the State of California in order to start gambling on real money poker websites.
• Betting companies that violate federal law would not be permitted to set up poker gambling and casino operations.
• All online poker website software would have to include self-exclusion features such as loss limits and time-outs for real cash poker players to implement themselves.
• Licenses for real money Internet poker would be valid for 10 years, non-transferable and cost $5 million.
• Regulations would go into effect within 270 days of passage.

The Facts

The History of Gambling in California

1850

1850

Even before California became a state, card rooms have been up and running since 1850. These were also known as “California Casinos” or “Card Clubs”.

1933

1933

California’s gambling industry grew in 1933, with the introduction of horse race wagering. The California Constitution was amended for this to take place and 6 major horse racetracks were introduced to the state. In addition, over 30 off-track betting locations were spread throughout the state.

1984

1984

Due to Proposition 37, State lottery was introduced to California, which has been incredibly successful to this day.

1988

1988

The ‘Indian Gaming Regulatory Act’ was the main reason why gambling became even more popular throughout the State in the late 90’s. As a result of this, negotiations began with tribes (more than 50) and Bingo type games were the premise of these negotiations.

2000

2000

A law was passed in this year which fully legalised casino gambling on tribal lands. This gave the tribes an opportunity to negotiate their compacts and come to an agreement of what machines and table games they can offer in their casinos.

2010

2010

Best Online California Casino

With the rise of internet gambling , California joined the craze and introduced horse racing betting over the internet. Which ultimately led to other forms of internet gambling being introduced in the near future.

2012

2012

The Californian Senate had a busy year with various bills to legalize and regulate online poker being put forward. It wasn’t clear whether the tribes would be a part of regulating and licensing online poker operators, but the idea was definitely being pushed forward.

2014

2014

Due to other states in the country legalising online poker, California was beginning to look like the next one on the list as two more bills were introduced to the Senate. Online poker is still up in the air in this state, but it is showing signs of potential for the near future.

California’s gambling roots can be traced all the way back to the gold rush and the ever popular Texas Hold’em poker game. As early as 1850, the predominately male population of prospectors and miners in CA demanded a masculine form of entertainment. Within mere months, licensed and unsolicited card rooms offering real cash poker games began popping up everywhere. Throughout the next several decades gambling’s popularity died down in California, not re-emerging until the early 1930’s.

In 1907, the Santa Anita Park – one of the most prestigious horseracing tracks in the entire world – opened its doors. However, it wouldn’t be until 1933 that real money gambling on horseracing was legalized in CA. Its legalization caused the relatively dormant poker betting and casino gambling industry to thrive. With the passing of a proposition in 1984 that legalized a statewide lottery, gambling became somewhat of a leisurely, everyday activity for real cash poker fans in CA and for other betting fans.

Around this time countless casinos were constructed; many of them home to poker rooms featuring upwards of 100 to 200 tables and offering classic Texas Hold’em real money poker games and many other popular poker variants. At 240 tables strong, the Los Angeles Commerce Casino [4] houses one of the largest poker gambling rooms not only in California but in the entire world.

Native American owned casinos became popular in the early 2000s. Tribal casinos enjoy several distinct advantages over traditional real cash legit poker card rooms including tax regulation, governing lease arrangements and the ability to offer legal gambling games besides real money poker, such as craps and roulette.

Poker players in California have a good chance of eventually being able to play poker online at legal US poker rooms.

Regulated Gambling Options In California

California is home to more gambling facilities than every state in the US outside of Nevada. It features over 100 legal poker card rooms, 68 tribal casinos, six racetracks and over 21,000 retail outlets licensed to sell lottery tickets. All told, citizens of the Golden State can rarely walk a block without running into some sort of lawful gambling outlet.

The Future Of Regulated Online Gambling In California

Right now, residents of California are permitted to engage in Internet betting on horseracing. All other forms of gambling, including online Internet poker for real cash, are not regulated by the state in 2020. However, it does appear that most of the CA State’s gambling powers are finally on board with online Internet poker-only website legislation. Expect them to come to terms shortly.

The Bottom Line

Given its massive population, if California passes legislation legalizing online poker in The Golden State the Federal Government would be forced to notice – especially if it decides to hold firm on its stance regarding interstate compacts. In fact, some say that California could easily dominate the real money Internet poker website market.

California will undoubtedly enter the Internet poker and gambling arena at some point. The real question is when the legal poker and casino betting websites will start to hit the web. Before PokerStars re-entered the picture, it appeared as though CA State was on target for a mid-2015 launch of legit Internet poker. Now, whether legal online poker comes to California depends on how quickly rival factions can come to terms regarding the inclusion or exclusion of a bad actor clause.

References

Online Casino Real Money California

[1] ↑ California – Gambling Law, Regulations, and Resource Information

[2] ↑California Online Poker Bill Filed Away Until Next Year

Online Casino Legal In California

[3] ↑The Commerce Casino and Hotel

Casino Action Download

List Of Casinos In California

Comments are closed.