23rd Jun 2019
California Online Betting
If the gambling industry has to settle for state-by-state legalization, California represents the Holy Grail of online gambling in the US. It's by far the most populous country in the union with a $2 trillion market that would rank number 8 on earth if it was its own country. International gambling sites have gone out of their way to obtain licenses in countries much 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 norm by which gambling is quantified in the USA. If the state does eventually regulate gaming and it's 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 do not have anything important to report yet, but most observers are cautiously optimistic that California will sooner or later make a significant movement toward legalization. Here is why:
The country has a pro-gambling civilization The state has lawful casinos and card rooms
It is home to many Indian tribes who are experienced in gambling 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 discuss the different betting options in California in greater detail below, but I'd love to begin with a quick list of gambling sites that are available right now in California. If you're here searching for a place to bet online, these are the sites which will let you play with and bet 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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Daily Offers and Specials
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Sports Betting in California
Lawmakers in California have demonstrated some interest in legalizing sports gambling of late. A bill introduced in the 2017/18 session proposed amending existing gambling law to allow the California legislature to authorize sports gambling determined by the Supreme Court overturning the national sports gambling ban (which it did).
ACA 18 itself didn't seek to legalize wagering; it instead provided a constitutional amendment that would enable lawmakers to legalize and regulate sports gambling later on. After he introduced the bill, Assemblyman Adam Gray stated,"The choice isn't'should we have sports wagering or never have sports wagering.' We do have sports wagering."
The point he was making is that sports gambling is already a huge black market in California and throughout the United States. The American Gaming Association quotes Americans wager at least $154 billion per year on sports with internet sportsbooks and local bookies in contrast to the law. The present condition prohibition is not functioning, the logic goes, so the wise thing to do is legalize it, regulate it and tax it.
A report from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming published in 2017 considers California is likely to legalize sports gambling in five years from the date of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn PASPA. California has lots of potential to turn into a significant sports gambling market, but as you'll see in another section, competing interests in the country have a propensity to complicate things.
Assemblyman Gray introduced the same legislation in 2018 and 2019 as he continues to push the issue. Finding the tribal bands board has been exceedingly hard since they dominate an $8 billion gaming industry and are highly reluctant to get on board with sports betting at risk of opening their lucrative compacts with the condition to negotiation once more.
Online Poker in California
The quest for internet poker in California is being fought in the courtrooms because you read these words. Bills seeking to control internet poker have been released every year since 2007. Not one of those bills have made it all of the way through the legislative process due to vying factions on either side of the issue, but every year brings us nearer to finding an arrangement that satisfied all interested parties.
In reality, much of the difficulty can be attributed to competing interests in the nation. It appears everybody has an agenda and it isn't easy to find consensus among the Indian tribes, brick-and-mortar operators and existing online brands. 1 group or another constantly feels left out or targeted from the wording of legislation. And to be honest, that's often a legitimate concern.
To add to the problem, there are still powerful lobbying groups that actively fight the legalization of poker or any other form of online gambling in the united states. Casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson has pledged to fight legalization throughout the nation. In California alone, he spent more than $300,000 to lobby against poker.
Not a single one of the bills introduced over the previous decade-plus has made considerable progress due to the various competing interests in the state. The next 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's to make progress in California:
AB 2291: Promising Start but Died in Committee
Meeting Bill 2291 was first introduced way back in February 2014 but never made it outside the committee phase. It was reintroduced in 2015 and 2016, but was still unable to achieve the traction it had to make it much in the legislative procedure.
The bill sought to legalize online poker just and issue 10-year licenses . The proposed fee for licensing was initially set at $5,000,000, with this fee 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.
Early variations of AB 2291 contained several clauses which have caused tension between various factions competing for a piece of this poker pie. Most contentious one among them is a"bad actor" clause. AB 2291 originally sought to require prospective licensees to have 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 accounts to be held in condition.
Essentially, AB 2291 would have prevented all of current internet poker providers and newer neighborhood casinos in California from competing. The wording of the bill very clearly favored a few established California casino groups at the expense of fair competition.
Another problem with AB 2291 was that it would have banned California from entering agreements with other nations to unite player pools and improve liquidity. In other words, you'd only see different Californians at the table however many sates legalize poker. To top it all off, the bill would require the country to determine of any laws passed at the national level allowing online poker.
Some progress was made in 2016 with a proposed amendment that could significantly alter the bad 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 restrictions would have banned established brand for example PokerStars from entering the marketplace.
The previous amendment proposes to instead transfer the chalk date for the bad actor clause up towards the end of 2011. To put it differently, sites such as PokerStars that operated after the UIGEA but subsequently left the market after the Black Friday indictments at 2011. This would prevent the most egregious violators from entering the sector but afford PokerStars a chance to offer online poker legally in California. You can read more about the proposal .
Looking Back at 2018: The Good and Bad
The Poor Lawmakers and tribal groups are stuck in stalemate for going on four years now. It is nice to see some improvement on this front, however it's also discouraging to see that the outright stubbornness on the part of varying factions. Poker players would be better served by an open and competitive marketplace and player-sharing agreements with other states.
Worse than all that, online poker seems to have taken a step back in 2018. For the first time in over a decade, no invoices seeking to legalize online poker have been introduced. Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sayer told Online Poker Report that he's giving up on online poker legislation for this season since there's just no progress being made in reaching a compromise between the tribes, local card rooms and other interested parties.
The Good There are a number of positive things to say about all this. If poker is indeed legalized in California, the possible player pool will much larger than what we've seen in other nations that have legalized online poker. Aside from the fact that 38 million people call California home, the state has a poker culture already as a result of its many brick-and-mortar card rooms.
California is likely to have fewer issues with geolocation of players due to the sheer size. New Jersey had all sorts of issues verifying players were actually located within the state. This ended up with plenty of possible players being unfairly barred from the state-sanctioned sites there. California does not have to contend with congested cities piled up on state borders.
Fantasy Sports
Whenever the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) has been passed in 2006, it provided two notable exceptions to internet gambling: horse racing and fantasy sports. The UIGEA did not just exempt those kinds of gaming; it basically gave operators the go-ahead to offer their games to customers right here in the US.
Some states have since passed laws banning online fantasy sports but California isn't among these. If you have a thing for sports betting but would rather do it in a protected and controlled fashion, fantasy sports is your thing to do. You draft a team just like in regular fantasy leagues but now you get paid actual money if you win.
FanDuel.com and DraftKings.com will be the two largest players in this market. They both accept clients from CA and provide single-day fantasy leagues such as your NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, college basketball and college football.
One of the pleasant things about online fantasy sports is every competition only lasts for a week or week at the most. You're not stuck with a single group all season. Rather, your team stands up stats over the course of a single week. It's possible to play in heads-up competitions against other gamers or test your skill in massive tournaments that sometimes give more than a thousand bucks to the first place winner.
You can read more about fantasy sports betting here.
Legislative Efforts for Daily Fantasy at California
2016 was a significant year for its daily fantasy sports business in California. In January of 2016, lawmakers introduced AB 1437 in an attempt to make a regulatory framework for everyday fantasy sports websites. If enacted, the bill would require DFS sites to acquire a license, apply a minimum age of 21 for many clients, hold all clients' funds in a segregated account and extend self-exclusion programs for players.
The bill advanced past three major 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 into legislation. On the other hand, the bill itself will not really legalize online fantasy sports competitions; it only sets the conditions by which the industry would be controlled.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris is expected to issue a judgment on whether fantasy competitions constitute illegal gambling under state law. If she rules favorably, AB 1437 will have everything set up to permit and regulated dream sites instantly. The AG's ruling was expected for more than a year today. In the meantime, California dream sports websites continue to operate freely.
As of 2019, advancement on the bill seems to have fully stalled. The good news is fantasy sports sites continue to be active throughout the state. Legalizing fantasy sports in California would basically be a formality now.
Online Casinos
There aren't yet any legal online casinos in California. The state hasn't even tried to pass laws in this respect so it will probably be years until we see legitimate gaming websites open to CA residents.
Do not be tricked by the countless other websites which are recommending"legal" internet casinos. These are actually offshore gambling sites without any legal presence whatsoever in the United States. They are unlicensed and completely unregulated.
Although to be fair, there are no state or federal laws which prohibit playing at offshore casinos. If you do decide to play with online, nobody will come kick in your front door. The biggest risk is financial -- you never know for certain who you're dealing with on the other side of the screen. Some offshore casinos could be secure while others are clearly outright scams. But regardless of where you play, you don't have any legal recourse if things go belly up.
Your best option is to look at any of the other legal, accredited and secure forms of gambling that can be found right now in California. Between horse racing, fantasy sports and also many likely online poker quite soon, there are still plenty of other ways to play real money games online at safe, accredited websites based in the US.
Horse Betting
Online horse racing is alive and well in California. The horse gambling situation here is not nearly as complex as the poker situation. California does permit residents to play at US-licensed horse wagering sites such as TwinSpires, BetAmerica and TVG.
All the major US-based horse gambling sites accept customers 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 operate across the state and they too allow for real cash wagering. In total, you can bet online at any of the approved horse betting websites, off-track at an OTB place or in-house in any of the monitors listed below. California is also home to county and state fairs that maintain races at different times each year.
The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) oversees all horse racing and wagering inside the state. The CHRB's mission is to ensure the integrity, viability and security of the state's horse racing industry. They oversee wagering, breeding, physical security and the promotion of horse racing.
California Racetracks
CalExpo:
The California Exposition and State Fair operates a year-round 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 every week.
1100 Eastshore Highway
Berkley, CA 94710
Website Santa Anita
Santa Anita is among the most widely recognized racetracks in the USA and home to major events like the Santa Anita Derby, Santa Anita Handicap and sometimes the Breeder's Cup.
285 W. Huntington Drive
Arcadia, CA 91007
Website Del Mar
Del Mar opened in 1937 with a renowned race between Seabiscuit and Ligaroti. Seabiscuit hardly took the race became a legend of his own. Today, Del Mar plays host to racing events, concerts, family fun days and more.
2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd..
Del Mar, CA 92014
Site Los Alamitos
Los Alamitos Race Course is home to daytime thoroughbred racing and nighttime quarter racing. The track is home to some of the greatest quarter horse stakes races in the US.
4961 E. Katella Ave.
Los Alamitos, CA 90720
Website OTB Locations
There are 31 off-track betting centers in California. OTB facilities can be seen 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 motive to especially legalize online bingo in California. The only realistic possibility I see of 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 authorized to sell tickets online or via telephone. For years, the federal Wire Act prohibited states from selling lotto tickets over the net. This might not be the case forever. In 2009, New York and Illinois requested the Department of Justice to explain its position on the Wire Act and explain exactly which types of online gambling were prohibited.
The DOJ responded in 2011 with a decision that had far-reaching effects beyond just the lottery. 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 online if they choose.
Lottery Subscription Websites California hasn't yet joined the growing list of countries that sell lottery tickets on the web. But, there are a range of messenger services that can go buy lottery tickets at face value for a monthly subscription fee. You may log in to those sites, pay face value for your tickets and the corporation is going to go and purchase tickets on your title.
For instance, LottoGopher.com is a California-based membership website that offers this specific support. 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 aren't legally permitted to sell lotto tickets for more than face value, so they instead charge users a subscription fee.
A membership at LottoGopher allows you to purchase tickets online, pick specific numbers and even form lottery pools along with different members. Should you win less than $600, Lotto Gopher will credit the winnings to your account which you may then withdraw straight 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 full amount.
The website does not require a cut of your winnings. They only way that they make money is by charging clients a flat subscription fee. At this time, 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're based in California and state lottery officials understand who they are. It's good for you to ask though since there are a ton of online lotto websites that feel and look legit but are not. Lotto Gopher actually is lawful and 100% untrue.
They have been all over the media in recent decades as well. Forbes and ABC have both written articles regarding the service.
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