California Online Betting

If the gambling industry must settle for state-by-state legalization, California signifies the Holy Grail of online gambling in the US. It’s the most populous country in the union with a $2 trillion market that could rank number 8 in the world when it was its own nation. International gambling websites have gone out of their way to acquire licenses in countries considerably smaller than California.
All eyes are on California as states mull legalizing a variety of forms of online gambling. If California does go the method of legalization, it would by default be the standard by which gambling has been quantified in the United States. If the nation does finally dominate gambling and it’s successful, other nations will certainly follow suit. We might even see something finally happen at the federal level.
Different pieces of legislation have been introduced, taken down and reintroduced in recent years. We do not have anything major to report however, but many observers are cautiously optimistic that California will at some point make a serious movement toward legalization. Here’s why:
The state has a pro-gambling culture The state already has legal casinos and card rooms
It’s home to many Indian tribes who are experienced in gaming California has a spending problem and the potential tax revenues must surely be tempting for state lawmakers
Current List of Betting Sites in California
We’ll go over the different betting options in California in greater detail below, however I’d love to begin with a fast list of gambling sites which are available at this time in California. If you came here looking for a place to bet online, these are the sites that will permit you to play and wager real money today.
Sports Gambling:
RankBetting SiteBonusRatingVisit
1
100% up to $50
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Fantasy Sports:
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1
Up to 4 Free Entries
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2
Free Contest Entry
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Horse and Greyhound Betting:
RankBetting SiteBonusRatingVisit
1
$20 Free + 100% up to $100
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2
100% up to $100
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3
Wager $500, Get $100
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Online Lottery Tickets:
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1
No Bonuses Offered
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Games of Skill:
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1
Daily Offers and Specials
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Sports Betting in California
Lawmakers in California have demonstrated some interest in legalizing sports betting of late. A bill introduced at the 2017/18 session proposed amending existing gambling law to allow the California legislature to authorize sports betting contingent upon the Supreme Court overturning the federal sports gambling ban (which it did).
ACA 18 itself didn’t seek to legalize wagering; it rather offered a constitutional amendment that would allow lawmakers to legalize and regulate sports betting in the future. When he introduced the bill, Assemblyman Adam Gray stated,”The decision isn’t’should we have sports wagering or not possess sports wagering.’ We all do have sports wagering.”
The point he was making is that sports betting is already a massive black market in California and across the United States. The American Gaming Association quotes Americans bet at least $154 billion each year on sports with online sportsbooks and local bookies contrary to the law. The present condition prohibition isn’t functioning, the logic goes, so the wise thing to do is legalize it, regulate it and tax it.
A report by Eilers & Krejcik Gaming published in 2017 believes California is very likely to legalize sports gambling in five years from the date of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn PASPA. California has plenty of potential to turn into a major sports betting market, but as you’ll read in the next section, competing interests in the country have a tendency to complicate matters.
Assemblyman Gray introduced the same legislation again in 2018 and 2019 since he continues to push the situation. Finding the tribal groups on board has been exceedingly hard as they control a $8 billion gambling industry and therefore are highly reluctant to get on board with sports gambling at risk of starting their lucrative compacts with the state to discussion once more.
Online Poker at California
The quest for internet poker in California has been fought in the courtrooms because you read these words. Bills seeking to control internet poker have been released annually since 2007. None of these bills have made it all the way through the legislative process because of vying factions on all sides of the matter, but each year brings us nearer to finding an agreement that satisfied all parties that are interested.
In reality, much of the difficulty can be attributed to rival interests in the nation. It appears everybody has an agenda and it is difficult to find consensus among the Indian tribes, brick-and-mortar operators and existing online brands. 1 group or another always feels left out or concentrated from the wording of legislation. And to be fair, that’s often a legitimate concern.
To add to the difficulty, there are still strong lobbying groups that actively combat the legalization of poker or another form of online gaming in the united states. Casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson has vowed to fight legalization across the nation. In California alone, he spent more than $300,000 to lobby against poker.
Not one of the bills introduced during the previous decade-plus has made considerable progress thanks to the many competing interests in the state. The following bill is Only One of many attempts to make something happen in California, but it serves as a Normal example of how complex and difficult It’s to make progress in California:
AB 2291: Promising Start but Died in Committee
Assembly Bill 2291 was first introduced way back in February 2014 but not made it outside the committee period. It was reintroduced in 2015 and 2016, but was still unable to achieve the traction it had to make it much in the legislative process.
The bill sought to legalize online poker only and issue 10-year licenses . The proposed fee for licensing has been initially set at $5,000,000, with this charge being used to offset future taxes. Lawmakers bumped that fee up several times until the fee hit a high of $12,500,000 without offsetting taxes.
Historical versions of AB 2291 contained several clauses that have caused tension between various factions competing for a piece of the poker pie. Most controversial one of these is a”bad actor” clause. AB 2291 originally sought to require potential licensees to get a minimum of five years of gaming experience in California. Additionally, it required every facet of a procedure, from its employees to its gear to its bank account to be kept in condition.
Essentially, AB 2291 would have prevented all of current internet poker providers and newer neighborhood casinos in California out of competing. The wording of this bill very clearly preferred a few established California casino classes at the cost of fair competition.
Another problem with AB 2291 was that it might have prohibited California from entering arrangements with other nations to combine player pools and enhance liquidity. To put it differently, you’d only see different Californians in the table no matter how many sates legalize poker. To top it off, the bill would require the state to determine of any laws passed at the national level allowing online poker.
Some progress was made in 2016 with a proposed amendment which could significantly alter the bad actor clause. Formerly, the bill would have barred all online poker companies that operated after the passing of the federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. Such limitations would have banned established brand for example PokerStars from entering the marketplace.
The previous amendment proposes to rather move the cut-off date to the awful celebrity clause up towards the end of 2011. In other words, sites like PokerStars that functioned after the UIGEA but left the marketplace after the Black Friday indictments at 2011. This would stop the most egregious violators from entering the sector but afford PokerStars an opportunity to offer online poker legally in California. You may read more about the suggestion here.
Looking Back at 2018: The Good and Bad
The Poor Lawmakers and tribal groups have been stuck in stalemate for about four years now. It’s nice to see some improvement on this front, but it is also discouraging to see the stubbornness on the portion of varying factions. Poker players will be better served through an open and competitive marketplace and player-sharing arrangements with other states.
Worse than that, online poker appears to have taken a step back in 2018. For the first time in more than a decade, no invoices seeking to legalize online poker have been introduced. Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sayer told Online Poker Report he’s giving up on online poker legislation for this season since there’s just 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 really legalized in California, the potential player pool will much bigger than that which we’ve seen in other nations that have already legalized online poker. Besides the fact that 38 million people call California home, the country has a poker culture already thanks to its numerous brick-and-mortar card rooms.
California is very likely to have fewer problems with geolocation of gamers because of the sheer size. New Jersey had all kinds of problems verifying players were really located within the state. This ended up with plenty of possible players being barred from the state-sanctioned websites there. California does not need to contend with congested cities piled up on state borders.
Fantasy Sports
Whenever the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed in 2006, it supplied two notable exceptions to internet gambling: horse racing and fantasy sports. The UIGEA didn’t merely exempt these kinds of gambling; it essentially gave operators the go-ahead to provide their games to customers right here in the US.
Some states have since passed laws banning online fantasy sports but California is not among these. In case you’ve got a thing for sports betting but prefer to do it at a safe and regulated fashion, fantasy sports is the way to go. You draft a staff like in regular dream leagues but now you get paid real money if you win.
FanDuel.com and DraftKings.com will be the two largest players in this marketplace. They both accept clients from CA and offer single-day fantasy leagues for the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, college basketball and college football.
One of the pleasant things about online fantasy sports is every contest only lasts for a day per week at the most. You are not stuck with a single group all season. Rather, your team racks up stats over the duration of a single week. You can play in heads-up competitions against other players or test your skill in enormous tournaments that sometimes give more than a million bucks to the first place winner.
You can read more about fantasy sports gambling here.
Legislative Efforts for Daily Fantasy at California
2016 was an important year for its daily fantasy sports business in California. In January of 2016, lawmakers introduced AB 1437 in a bid to make a regulatory framework for daily fantasy sports sites. If enacted, the bill would need DFS websites to acquire a license, apply a minimum age of 21 for all clients, hold all clients’ funds in a segregated account and offer self-exclusion programs for problem gamblers.
The bill advanced previous three important votes with 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 really legalize online fantasy sports contests; it only sets the conditions by which the business would be regulated.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris is expected to issue a ruling on whether or not fantasy competitions constitute illegal gambling under state law. If she principles favorably, AB 1437 will have all in place to license and regulated dream sites instantly. The AG’s judgment was expected for at least a year today. Meanwhile, California dream sports sites continue to operate freely.
As of 2019, progress on the bill appears to have completely stalled. The fantastic news is fantasy sports sites are still active throughout the state. Legalizing fantasy sports in California would essentially be a formality now.
Online Casinos
There are not any legal online casinos in California. The state has not even tried to pass laws in this regard so it will probably be years until we see legitimate gaming sites open to CA residents.
Don’t be fooled by the countless different websites that are currently recommending”legal” online casinos. All these are actually offshore gaming sites that have no legal existence whatsoever in the United States. They are unlicensed and completely unregulated.
Although to be honest, there aren’t any state or federal laws which prohibit playing at offshore casinos. If you do decide to play online, nobody will come kick in your front door. The largest risk is financial — you never know for certain who you are dealing with on the other side of the display. Some offshore casinos may be secure while some are definitely outright scams. But regardless of where you play, you don’t have any legal recourse when things go belly up.
Your best option would be to look at some of the other authorized, accredited and secure types of betting that can be found right now in California. Between horse racing, fantasy sports and also most likely online poker quite soon, there are still plenty of other ways to play real money games online at protected, licensed websites based in the US.
Horse Betting
Online horse racing is alive and well in California. The horse gambling situation here isn’t nearly as complicated as the poker scenario. California does allow residents to perform at US-licensed horse wagering sites such as TwinSpires, BetAmerica and TVG.
Each of the major US-based horse betting sites accept clients from California. The state also enables off-track betting (OTB) facilities. OTB facilities function as brick-and-mortar betting shops 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 can bet online at any one of the horse gambling websites, off-track at an OTB place or in-person at any of the monitors listed below. California is also home to state and county fairs that maintain races at various times every year.
The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) manages all horse racing and wagering inside the state. The CHRB’s assignment is to ensure the integrity, viability and safety of the state’s horse racing industry. They manage wagering, breeding, physical security and the promotion of horse racing.
California Racetracks
CalExpo:
The California Exposition and State Fair functions a yearlong harness racetrack that runs daily at around 5:20 PM.
1600 Exposition Drive
Sacramento, CA 95815
Website Golden Gate Fields
This track is situated in Berkley with races and simulcast events weekly.
1100 Eastshore Highway
Berkley, CA 94710
Site Santa Anita
Santa Anita is one of the most widely recognized racetracks from the USA and home to major events such as the Santa Anita Derby, Santa Anita Handicap and occasionally the Breeder’s Cup.
285 W. Huntington Drive
Arcadia, CA 91007
Site Del Mar
Del Mar opened in 1937 with a famous race between Seabiscuit and Ligaroti. Seabiscuit barely took the race and became a legend of his own. Now, Del Mar plays host to racing events, concerts, family fun days and more.
2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd..
Del Mar, CA 92014
Website Los Alamitos
Los Alamitos Race Course is home to daylight thoroughbred racing and night quarter racing. The track is home to a number of the largest quarter horse bets races in the US.
4961 E. Katella Ave.
Los Alamitos, CA 90720
Site OTB Locations
There are 31 off-track betting facilities in California. OTB centers can be found in fairgrounds, racetracks, specialty OTB shops, casinos and fairgrounds. You may see a full list of locations and addresses .
Internet Bingo
There seems to be no motivation to especially legalize online bingo in California. The only realistic chance I see online bingo coming to California is whether it gets caught up in some future internet casino legislation.
Lottery Games
Ca lottoThe California state lottery is not licensed to sell tickets online or through telephone. For 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 requested the Department of Justice to clarify its stance on the Wire Act and explain exactly which types of online gambling were prohibited.
The DOJ reacted in 2011 with a decision that’d far-reaching effects beyond just the lottery. In September of 2011, the DOJ issued an announcement the official interpretation of the Wire Act only applies to sports betting over the net. This gave countries the go-ahead to sell tickets online if they choose.
Lottery Subscription Sites California has not yet joined the growing list of states that sell lottery tickets on the web. But, there are a range of messenger services which will go buy lottery tickets at face value for a monthly subscription fee. You may log in to all those websites, pay face value for your tickets and the company is going to go and buy tickets in your name.
For example, LottoGopher.com is a California-based membership site that provides this specific service. The site is registered in California, its owners have been background-checked by lottery commission officers and it abides by all federal and state laws. They are not legally allowed to sell lotto tickets for more than face value, so that they instead charge users a subscription fee.
A membership at LottoGopher lets you buy tickets online, select specific amounts as well as form lotto pools with different members. Should you win less than $600, Lotto Gopher will credit the winnings into your account that you may then draw right to the bank. Should you win more than $600, Lotto Gopher will maintain the prize on your behalf in person then send you a check for the full amount.
The site does not require a cut of your winnings. They only way 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 legit?
Yes. They are based in California and say lottery officials know they are. It’s great that you ask though since there are a ton of online lotto sites which look and feel legit but aren’t. Lotto Gopher really is lawful and 100% legit.
They’ve been all over the press in recent years too. Forbes and ABC have written articles regarding the service.

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