If the gambling industry must settle for state-by-state legalization, California represents the Holy Grail of online betting in the united states. It is by far the most populous country in the union with a $2 trillion economy that could rank number 8 in the world if it had its own nation. International gambling websites have gone out of the way to obtain licenses in countries much smaller than California.
All eyes are on California as countries mull legalizing a variety of types of online gambling. If California does ever go the way of legalization, it would by default become the norm by which gambling is quantified in the United States. If the nation does eventually regulate gaming and it is successful, other nations will surely follow suit. We might even see something finally happen at the national level.
Various pieces of legislation have been released, shot down and reintroduced in recent decades. We don’t have anything important to report however, but many observers are cautiously optimistic that California will sooner or later make a significant move toward legalization. Here is why:
The country has a pro-gambling culture The state already has legal casinos and card rooms
It’s home to numerous Indian tribes who are experienced in gaming California has a spending problem and the potential tax revenues must surely be tempting for state lawmakers
Present List of Betting Sites in California
We’ll go over the different gaming choices in California in greater detail below, however I’d love to start with a fast list of betting sites which are available at this time in California. If you’re here searching for a place to gamble online, these are the websites that will let you play and wager real money now.
Sports Gaming:
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1
100% up to $50
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Fantasy Sports:
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Free Contest Entry
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Horse and Greyhound Betting:
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$20 Free + 100% up to $100
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2
100% up to $100
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Wager $500, Get $100
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Online Lottery Tickets:
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No Bonuses Offered
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Games of Skill:
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Daily Offers and Specials
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Sports Betting at California
Lawmakers in California have demonstrated some interest in legalizing sports betting of late. A bill introduced in the 2017/18 session proposed amending existing gambling law to allow the California legislature to authorize sports betting determined by the Supreme Court overturning the federal sports betting ban (which it did).
ACA 18 itself did not seek to legalize wagering; it rather offered a constitutional amendment that would allow lawmakers to legalize and regulate sports betting later on. After he introduced the bill, Assemblyman Adam Gray said,”The choice isn’t’if we have sports wagering or never possess sports wagering.’ We do have sports wagering.”
The point he was making is that sports betting is already a massive black market in California and across the USA. The American Gaming Association estimates Americans wager at least $154 billion per year on sports with internet sportsbooks and local bookies in contrast to the law. The current state prohibition is not working, the logic goes, so the smart thing to do is legalize it, regulate it and tax it.
A report by Eilers & Krejcik Gaming published in 2017 considers California is likely to legalize sports gambling within five years from the date of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn PASPA. California has lots of potential to become a significant sports betting market, but as you’ll read in another section, competing interests in the state have a tendency to complicate things.
Assemblyman Gray introduced the exact same legislation in 2018 and 2019 as he continues to push the issue. Getting the tribal bands board has been exceedingly hard since they dominate a $8 billion gambling industry and are highly reluctant to get on board with sports betting at risk of starting their profitable compacts with the state to negotiation once more.
Online Poker in California
The pursuit for internet poker in California is being fought in the courtrooms because you read these words. Bills seeking to control internet poker have been introduced every year since 2007. None of those bills have made it all of the way through the legislative process because of vying factions on either side of the issue, but every year brings us nearer to finding an arrangement that satisfied all parties that are interested.
In fact, a lot of the difficulty can be attributed to competing interests in the state. It seems everybody has an agenda and it is difficult to find consensus among the Indian tribes, Cuban operators and existing online brands. 1 group or another always feels left out or targeted by the wording of legislation. And to be honest, that’s often a valid concern.
To add to the difficulty, there are still powerful lobbying groups that actively combat the legalization of poker or another form of online gaming in the US. Casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson has pledged to fight legalization throughout the country. In California alone, he spent more than $300,000 to lobby against poker.
Not one of those bills introduced over the last decade-plus has made considerable progress due to the various competing interests in the state. The following bill is Only One of many efforts to make something happen in California, but it serves as a Normal example of how complicated and difficult it is to make progress in California:
AB 2291: Promising Start but Died in Committee
Meeting Bill 2291 was introduced back in February 2014 but not made it beyond the committee phase. It was reintroduced in 2015 and 2016, but was still unable to gain the traction it had to make it much in the legislative procedure.
The bill sought to legalize online poker just and dilemma 10-year licenses . The suggested fee for licensing has been initially set at $5,000,000, with this charge being used to offset future taxes. Lawmakers bumped that charge up several times until the fee hit a high of $12,500,000 without offsetting taxes.
Early versions of AB 2291 contained several clauses that have resulted in tension between different factions competing for a piece of the poker pie. Most contentious one among these is a”bad actor” clause. AB 2291 initially sought to require prospective licensees to get at least five decades of gaming experience in California. It also required every facet of an operation, from its workers to its gear to its bank accounts to be kept in state.
Essentially, AB 2291 would have prevented all of current internet poker suppliers and newer local casinos in California from competing. The wording of the bill very clearly preferred a few recognized California casino classes at the expense of fair competition.
Another problem with AB 2291 was that it would have banned California from entering arrangements with other nations to combine player pools and improve liquidity. In other words, you’d only see other Californians in the table no matter how many sates legalize poker. To top it off, and the bill will require the state to opt out of any legislation passed at the federal level allowing internet poker.
Some progress has been made in 2016 with a suggested amendment which would significantly alter the lousy actor clause. Formerly, the bill would have barred all online poker companies that operated after the passage of the federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. Such limitations would have prohibited established brand such as PokerStars from entering the marketplace.
The previous amendment proposes to instead move the cut-off date to the bad actor clause up towards the end of 2011. In other words, sites like PokerStars that operated after the UIGEA but left the market after the Black Friday indictments in 2011. This could prevent the most egregious violators from entering the market but afford PokerStars a chance to offer online poker lawfully in California. You can read more about the proposal .
Looking back in 2018: The Good and Bad
The Bad Lawmakers and tribal groups are stuck in stalemate for going on four years now. It’s wonderful to see some progress on this front, but it is also discouraging to find the stubbornness on the portion of varying factions. Poker players would be better served by an open and competitive market and player-sharing agreements with other nations.
Worse than that, online poker seems to have taken a step back in 2018. For the first time in more than a decade, no bills trying to legalize online poker have been introduced. Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sayer advised Online Poker Report he’s giving up on online poker legislation for this season because there is simply no improvement being made in reaching a compromise between the tribes, local card rooms and other interested parties.
The Great There are a number of positive things to say about most of this. If poker is indeed legalized in California, the possible participant pool will much larger than that which we’ve seen in other states that have legalized online poker. Besides the fact that 38 million people call California home, the state has a poker civilization already thanks to its numerous brick-and-mortar card rooms.
California is likely to have fewer problems with geolocation of gamers due to the sheer size. New Jersey had all sorts of problems verifying players were really located within the nation. This ended up with loads of potential players being unfairly barred from the state-sanctioned sites there. California does not have to contend with congested cities piled up on state boundaries.
Fantasy Sports
When the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) has been passed in 2006, it supplied two notable exceptions to online gaming: horse racing and fantasy sports. The UIGEA did not just exempt these kinds of gaming; it basically gave operators the go-ahead to provide their games to customers right here in the US.
Some countries have since passed legislation banning online fantasy sports but California isn’t among these. If you have a thing for sports gambling but would rather do it at a safe and regulated fashion, fantasy sports is the way to go. You draft a team just like in regular fantasy leagues except now you get paid real money if you win.
FanDuel.com and DraftKings.com will be the two biggest players in this marketplace. They accept clients from CA and provide single-day fantasy leagues such as the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, college basketball and college football.
One of the nice things about online fantasy sports is each competition only lasts for a day or week in the most. You are not stuck with a single group all season. Instead, your team stands up stats over the course of a single week. It’s possible to play in heads-up contests against other players or test your ability in enormous tournaments that occasionally give more than a thousand dollars to the first place winner.
You can read more about dream sports betting here.
Legislative Efforts for Daily Fantasy at California
2016 was an important year for the daily fantasy sports industry in California. In January of 2016, lawmakers introduced AB 1437 in a bid to create a regulatory framework for daily fantasy sports websites. If enacted, the bill would need DFS websites to obtain a license, apply a minimum age of 21 for many customers, maintain all clients’ funds in a segregated account and extend self-exclusion programs for players.
The bill advanced past three important votes by a total of 101 for and 2 against. This is a significant bill for California and it looks increasingly likely to be passed to legislation. On the other hand, the bill itself will not actually legalize online fantasy sports contests; it only sets the conditions where the industry would be controlled.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris is expected to issue a ruling on whether or not fantasy contests constitute illegal gambling under law. If she rules favorably, AB 1437 will have everything in place to license and regulated fantasy sites immediately. The AG’s judgment has been anticipated for more than a year today. Meanwhile, California dream sports websites continue to function freely.
As of 2019, advancement on the bill appears to have completely stalled. The fantastic news is fantasy sports websites continue to be active throughout the state. Legalizing dream sports in California would basically be a formality now.
Online Casinos
There are not yet any legal online casinos in California. The nation hasn’t even tried to pass laws in this regard so it will likely be years until we see legitimate gambling websites open to CA residents.
Do not be tricked by the hundreds of other sites which are recommending”legal” online casinos. All these are actually offshore gaming sites that have no legal existence whatsoever in the USA. They are unlicensed and completely unregulated.
Although to be fair, there aren’t any state or federal laws which prohibit playing offshore casinos. Should you choose to play with online, nobody will come kick in your front door. The biggest risk is financial — you never know for certain who you are dealing with on the opposite side of the display. Some offshore casinos could be secure while some are definitely outright scams. But regardless of where you play, you don’t have any legal recourse if things go belly up.
Your best option would be to look at some of the other legal, accredited and safe forms of betting that can be found right now in California. Between horse racing, fantasy sports and most likely online poker quite soon, there are still plenty of different ways to play real money games online at safe, accredited sites based in the united states.
Horse Betting
Online horse racing is alive and well in California. The horse betting situation here isn’t nearly as complex as the poker scenario. California does allow residents to play US-licensed horse wagering websites such as TwinSpires, BetAmerica and TVG.
Each of the significant US-based horse gambling sites accept clients from California. The country also enables off-track betting (OTB) facilities. OTB facilities operate as brick-and-mortar gaming stores where people can walk in, put bets on races and collect their winnings in person.
Five racetracks run across the state and they too allow for real money wagering. In total, you are able to bet online at any of the approved horse gaming sites, off-track with an OTB location or in-house in any of the tracks listed below. California is also home to county and state fairs that maintain races at different times annually.
The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) oversees all horse racing and wagering inside the country. The CHRB’s assignment is to guarantee the integrity, viability and safety of the state’s horse racing industry. They manage wagering, breeding, bodily security as well as the marketing of horse racing.
California Racetracks
CalExpo:
The California Exposition and State Fair operates a yearlong harness racetrack that runs every day at around 5:20 PM.
1600 Exposition Drive
Sacramento, CA 95815
Site Golden Gate Fields
This track is situated in Berkley with races and simulcast events every week.
1100 Eastshore Highway
Berkley, CA 94710
Website Santa Anita
Santa Anita is one of the most widely recognized racetracks in the USA and home to Significant events like the Santa Anita Derby, Santa Anita Handicap and sometimes the Breeder’s Cup.
285 W. Huntington Drive
Arcadia, CA 91007
Site Del Mar
Del Mar started in 1937 with a renowned race between Seabiscuit and Ligaroti. Seabiscuit barely took the race became a legend of his own. Now, Del Mar plays host to racing festivals, events, family fun days and much more.
2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd..
Del Mar, CA 92014
Website Los Alamitos
Los Alamitos Race Course is home to daytime thoroughbred racing and nighttime quarter racing. The trail is home to some of the greatest quarter horse stakes races in the united states.
4961 E. Katella Ave.
Los Alamitos, CA 90720
Website OTB Locations
There are 31 off-track betting facilities in California. OTB facilities are seen in fairgrounds, racetracks, specialty OTB stores, casinos and fairgrounds. You may see a full list of addresses and locations here.
Internet Bingo
There appears to be no motive to especially legalize online bingo in California. The only realistic possibility I see online bingo coming to California is if it gets caught up in some future online casino legislation.
Lottery Games
Ca lottoThe California state lottery is not authorized to sell tickets on the internet or through phone. For many years, the federal Wire Act prohibited states from selling lotto tickets on the internet. This may not be the case forever. In 2009, New York and Illinois asked the Department of Justice to explain its stance on the Wire Act and clarify exactly which forms of online gambling were illegal.
The DOJ reacted in 2011 with a decision that’d far-reaching consequences beyond just the lottery. Back in September of 2011, the DOJ issued a statement that its official interpretation of the Wire Act only applies to sports gambling over the net. This gave countries the go-ahead to sell tickets on the internet if they select.
Lottery Subscription Websites California hasn’t yet joined the growing list of states that sell lottery tickets on the web. However, there are a range of messenger services which will go buy lottery tickets at face value for a monthly subscription fee. You can log in to all those websites, pay attention for your tickets and the company will go and purchase tickets on your title.
For instance, LottoGopher.com is a California-based membership site that offers this specific service. The site is registered in California, its owners have been background-checked by lottery commission officers also it abides by all state and federal laws. They aren’t legally allowed to sell lotto tickets for more than face value, so they instead charge users a subscription fee.
A membership at LottoGopher allows you to buy tickets online, select certain amounts and even form lottery pools along with other members. If you win less than $600, Lotto Gopher will charge the winnings into your account that you can then withdraw right to the bank. If you win more than $600, Lotto Gopher will maintain the prize on your behalf in person and then send you a check for the complete amount.
The website doesn’t require a cut of your winnings. They only way that they make money is by charging customers a flat subscription fee. At this moment, LottoGopher is only available in California. You can learn more and give it a try here:
www.lottogopher.com
lotto gopher
Is Lotto Gopher untrue?
Yes. They are based in California and say lottery officials know who they are. It is good for you to ask though because there are a ton of online lotto websites which look and feel untrue but aren’t. Lotto Gopher really is legal and 100% legit.
They have been all over the press in recent years too. Forbes and ABC have written articles regarding the service.

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