California Sports Betting

Sports betting is not yet legal in California after two competing voter referendums failed in 2022. California sports betting efforts will likely remain stalled until at least 2024.

The latest efforts failed due to disagreements over the best approach to legalization among the state’s key stakeholders: limiting the market to retail sportsbooks or authorizing online sports betting in California.

Current legal California online betting options consist of daily fantasy sports and horse racing betting. In-person gambling options include tribal casinos, horse race tracks, card rooms, and the state lottery.

Read on to learn more about the best California betting apps and the latest developments in the state’s pursuit of legal sports betting.

Legal California Betting Sites

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21+ and present in CA. T&Cs Apply. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-522-4700.

The above betting sites are open to customers from California. Each maintains a physical presence in the US, which means they are all subject to state and federal law.

California Sports Betting Outlook

Legal sports betting will likely come to California at some point, but what form it will take remains uncertain. As the most populous state in the Union and home to an economy that would rank number five in the world if it was its own country, California is the biggest prize in the legal US sports betting industry.

Some groups wish to legalize retail sportsbooks, others seek legal sports betting apps in California, and yet others want to ban sports betting outright. That said, legal sports betting seems to be more of a matter of when rather than if.

California’s closest brush with legal sports betting occurred after four competing ballot measures emerged in 2021. Only two collected enough signatures to make it to the 2022 mid-term elections ballot, and California voters overwhelmingly rejected both.

Gaming industry insiders, including the CEOs of DraftKings and FanDuel, believe 2024 will be a better year for California sports betting efforts. However, others see it differently. Here’s how Macquarie Group analyst Chad Beynon described the situation after California voters shot down both propositions:

“I have never seen anything in my career that’s this big of a flop. If they barely managed 30 per cent [of votes] with hundreds of millions spent, how much more are they going to have to spend to get it passed? We are arguably further away from legal sports betting [in California] than we were before the campaign.”

2023-2024 California Sports Betting Proposals

The latest California online sports betting efforts emerged in October 2023 via two ballot initiatives that would authorize tribal operators to operate mobile sportsbook apps in partnership with experienced operators. The two ballot proposals would work in tandem to give tribal operators the exclusive right to offer online sports betting through a hub-and-spoke model that would require all wagers placed in California to be routed through servers located on tribal lands.

The proposals would also allow tribal casino operators to partner with experienced sportsbook brands, but it would require them to use their federally recognized tribal names exclusively for branding. In other words, if a tribal group partners with DraftKings for the California online sports betting market, the mobile app would be named after the tribe and would not be permitted to use DraftKings branding at all.

The proposal would also limit partner operators to receiving no more than 40% of revenue share from their tribal partners. Additionally, operators would 25% in total taxes and fees once licensed. The law would establish a minimum age of 21 to bet online and would allow wagers on professional and college sports.

Whether the proposals are successful in authorizing online sports betting in California is uncertain at best because they don’t even have the backing of California’s tribal casino operators. In a statement, the California Nations Indian Gaming Association said it was “deeply disappointed” in the proposals’ sponsors for not consulting with the the tribes before filing the balllot petition.

In part, the statement reads:

“Decisions driving the future of tribal government should be made by tribal governments. While the sponsors of these initiatives may believe they know what is best for tribes, we encourage them to engage with Indian Country and ask, rather than dictate.”

The stakes are high for the California sports betting market, which will likely be the largest in the country if lawmakers pass sensible legislation. Lawmakers have introduced numerous bills to authorize California betting apps and sportsbooks, but competing interests have sidelined them all.

Even so, industry observers are confident California will legalize sports betting at some point:

  • California already has a pro-gambling culture
  • The state already has legal casinos and card rooms
  • It is home to many Indian tribes with extensive gaming experience
  • California has a spending problem, and the potential tax revenues must surely be tempting for state lawmakers

On the other hand, California is a uniquely complicated state for the legalization of sports betting.

Tribal groups across the state have long opposed the legalization of statewide mobile sports betting, preferring instead to authorize retail sportsbooks only out of fear that online betting would negatively impact casino visitation.

Additionally, some of the state’s most influential tribal gaming groups demand exclusivity or near-exclusivity over Vegas-style gaming and legal sports betting operations. In particular, they want California cardrooms left out of any future expansion of sports betting.

For years, animosity has simmered between some tribal groups and cardroom operators over cardrooms’ insistence on offering player-dealt variations of traditional casino games. Tribal gaming operators believe the manner in which cardrooms manage their non-poker games, particularly the use of third-party proposition players, infringes on the exclusivity provisions in their tribal-state gaming compacts.

On the other side of the equation are lawmakers and various industry types who are well aware that mobile betting generates the bulk of sports betting revenue in states with both. In New Jersey, for example, mobile betting accounts for roughly 80% of wagering handle.

To further complicate the issue, legalizing sports betting will likely require an amendment to the state constitution. Such an amendment must receive the approval of most voters in a statewide referendum, which can only occur during election years.

California sports betting proponents introduced four ballot measures in 2021 to legalize retail sportsbooks, online betting sites, or both. Two of the measures failed to gather enough signatures to appear on the November 2022 ballot, while two made the cut and went before the voters.

Voters overwhelmingly rejected both measures despite tribal gaming groups and commercial sportsbook operators raising nearly half a billion dollars in campaign funds and flooding California with ads.

A combination of voter apathy and confusing ads likely contributed to the dismal results for both measures. Additionally, a UC Berkley poll found that voters who saw more ads tended to support the measures less – potentially pointing to advertising fatigue.

Despite their disastrous outcomes, the initiatives provide a useful look at how California’s biggest gaming stakeholders wish to shape California sports betting.

  • Prop 26: A coalition of tribal gaming operators gathered enough signatures to put Prop 26 on the November 2022 ballot. The initiative sought to legalize retail sportsbooks at tribal casinos and four race tracks but prohibited online sports betting in California. Voters rejected the measure, with about 70% voting no and 30% voting yes.
  • Prop 27: A group of commercial operators introduced Prop 27 to authorize retail sportsbooks and sports betting apps in California. Despite having the support of BetMGM, WynnBET, DraftKings, FanDuel, Bally’s Corporation, Penn National Gaming, and Fanatics, the initiative failed by a vote of roughly 83% no and 17% yes.
  • Third Proposal: Another ballot initiative sought to establish a competitive California sports betting market by allowing tribal casinos, race tracks, cardrooms, and professional teams to apply for licenses to operate retail sportsbooks and mobile betting apps. The measure failed to collect enough signatures by the statutory deadline and did not appear on the ballot as a result.
  • Fourth Proposal: A handful of tribal casino operators proposed an initiative to grant themselves control over sports betting in California while blocking race tracks, card rooms, and sports teams from participating. If approved and implemented, the proposal would have restricted retail sportsbooks to tribal casinos and required all mobile wagers to route through servers on their land. However, the tribes withdrew the provision before collecting enough signatures to appear on the ballot.

A 2020 attempt to legalize retail sportsbooks and mobile betting in California exemplifies the difficulties the state faces.

SCA 6, introduced by Senator Bill Dodd in 2019 and carried over into 2020, sought to strike a compromise between tribal casinos, race tracks, and cardrooms by proposing three specific changes to the CA gaming landscape:

  • Allow tribal casinos and race tracks to operate retail sportsbooks and mobile betting platforms
  • Allow tribal casinos to offer roulette and dice games such as craps that are currently restricted
  • Allow cardrooms to continue offering player-banked card games

As Ryan Butler noted for BettingUSA, race tracks, cardrooms, and even California’s professional sports teams supported the bill, but tribal gaming operators strongly opposed it.

In a May 2020 statement, California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) Chairman James Siva said CNIGA “vehemently” opposes authorizing cardrooms to continue offering player-banked games.

The statement read in part:

While we appreciate Senator Dodd’s attempt to address sports wagering, we are vehemently opposed to including an expansion of gaming to a segment of the gaming industry that has proved, for decades, to be unwilling to follow the rules and regulations that guarantee a fair and safe gambling environment, and that comply with federal laws designed to stop money laundering.

We urge Senator Dodd to remove the provisions relating to California Cardrooms until that industry exhibits consistent behavior that proves that they are both willing and able to operate within the confines of the laws and regulations that currently exist.

Senator Dodd ended up pulling the bill in June 2020 in the face of strong opposition among tribes, some law enforcement agencies, and some cities with ties to tribal casinos.

California Daily Fantasy Sports

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Daily fantasy sports sites operate in a legal grey area in California because state law does not address their legality. Lawmakers once considered a bill to regulate fantasy sports apps and websites, but it failed before becoming law due to intense opposition from anti-gambling advocates and tribal casino operators.

However, California fantasy sports sites operate openly throughout the state and have done so for years despite the lack of legal clarity. Local regulators seem content with the current status quo, and California remains a massive DFS market. Sports fans can read more about fantasy sports in California and see BettingUSA’s recommended DFS operators below:

California Horse Racing Betting

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California is home to a large horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering industry consisting of high-profile race tracks, OTB locations, and legal online betting.

Fans 18 and older can bet on horse races from anywhere within state lines via licensed horse racing betting sites or catch some of the nation’s most prestigious thoroughbred races live at storied tracks like Los Alamitos and Del Mar.

Readers can see BettingUSA’s California horse racing betting guide for recommended racebooks, race track information, OTB locations, and much more:

California Greyhound Racing Betting

California is the home of modern greyhound racing betting but never managed to formally legalize the activity. However, in 1919, the country’s first commercial greyhound track opened in Emeryville despite a lack of a legal framework for greyhound racing. Emeryville’s track was also the first to use mechanical lures, which fans generally found more palatable than live lures.

Law enforcement officials shut down California’s first greyhound track after only a short time in operation, and that effectively put an end to California’s greyhound industry for good. Proponents initiated referendums to regulate greyhound betting in 1946 and 1976, but voters rejected both.

Live greyhound betting remains prohibited in California, but fans of the sport may wager on greyhounds through licensed ADWs that cover greyhound tracks elsewhere.

California Online Gambling Sites

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CA Penal Code § 330 outlaws all gambling that is not explicitly authorized by the state and conducted by licensed operators. Organizers and participants caught participating in unlawful gambling face a fine of $100 to $1,000 and imprisonment in a county jail for up to six months.

Additional gambling laws and regulations in California specifically state it is illegal to participate in online gambling under current state law.

California Online Casinos

Although California would potentially be a highly profitable online gambling market, state lawmakers have made no attempts to pass legislation that would authorize online casinos. The odds of legal online casinos coming to California any time soon appear low at this time.

Some informational websites promote “legal” online casinos that accept players from California, but the information provided by such websites does not align with the various statutes that expressly prohibit all forms of unregulated gambling. Online casinos that claim to offer internet gambling to CA residents operate contrary to state law and are entirely unregulated.

The best alternatives for readers today are to stick with the other forms of legal online betting in California. Horse racing and daily fantasy sports provide online betting that is regulated, legal and safe.

California Online Poker Sites

The demand for online poker in California is high, but legalization efforts face many of the same obstacles faced by sports betting. Tribal groups, California’s card rooms, casino operators, lawmakers, and other stakeholders all have competing visions of how online poker should be regulated and have so far failed to find a palatable middle ground.

Lawmakers have introduced bills to legalize online poker in California nearly every year since 2007, but every single effort has been derailed somewhere along the process.

The difficulties are unfortunate because California has excellent potential as an online poker state due to its large population and a pro-poker culture courtesy of its many tribal casinos and poker rooms.

Legalizing online poker in California would benefit the rest of the country if the state joins interstate gaming compacts. In that case, operators in California and other states would share tables across state lines, thereby increasing liquidity for everyone and giving states with smaller populations a much-needed boost in player numbers.

The only problem is that California online poker sites still look like a long shot. The state’s many attempts to legalize online poker to date have all fizzled relatively early in the lawmaking process due to conflicting interests among stakeholders with different visions of how to regulate online poker in California and who should have a seat at the table.

Lawmakers introduced Assembly Bill 2291 in February 2014, but it never progressed beyond the committee phase. They reintroduced the bill in 2015 and 2016, but it could not gain the traction it needed to advance.

The bill sought to legalize online poker only and issue 10-year licenses to operators. The proposed fee for licensing was initially $5,000,000, which operators could offset against future taxes. Lawmakers increased the several times until it hit a high of $12,500,000 without offsetting taxes.

Early versions of AB 2291 included several clauses that have caused tension between various factions competing for exclusivity. Most contentious among them was a “bad actor” clause. Under AB 2291, only operators with at least five years of gaming experience in California would qualify for licenses. Additionally, the bill would have required every aspect of an operation to be located in-state.

In essence, AB 2291 would have prevented all current online poker providers and newer local casinos in California from competing. The bill’s wording 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 prohibited California from entering agreements with other states to combine player pools and improve liquidity. In other words, players would only see other Californians at the table no matter how many states legalize poker. Additionally, the bill would have required California to opt-out of any legislation passed at the federal level allowing online poker.

Advocates made some progress in 2016 with a proposed amendment that would significantly alter the bad actor clause. Previously, 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 prohibited established online poker operators such as PokerStars from entering the market.

The last amendment proposed to move the cut-off date for the bad actor clause up to the end of 2011. In other words, poker sites such as PokerStars that operated after the UIGEA but left the market after the Black Friday indictments in 2011 would qualify for licenses.

The proposal would have prevented the most egregious violators from entering the market but afford PokerStars a chance to offer online poker legally in California.

The Bad

Lawmakers and tribal groups have been stuck in a stalemate for years now. It’s promising to see some progress on this front, but various stakeholders’ insistence on exclusivity has slowed negotiations. A competitive market and player-sharing agreements with other states would better serve poker players.

Worse than all that, online poker seems to have taken a step back in recent years. Lawmakers did not introduce a single poker bill in 2018, the first time a whole year passed without such legislation in more than a decade. They have mounted no serious efforts since.

The Good

There are some positive things to report for online poker in CA. First, if California legalizes online poker, the potential player pool will be much larger than what we’ve seen in other states that have already legalized online poker. Second, California already has a strong poker culture due to its many brick-and-mortar card rooms.

California is likely to have fewer problems with the geolocation of players due to its sheer size. New Jersey had many issues verifying players were physically located within state lines. Technology has improved significantly since then, making it relatively easy for California to geolocate players properly.

California Online Lottery

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The California Lottery does not directly sell tickets online or by mail. Third-party lottery courier app Jackpocket operated in California for a while, but it has since stopped serving the CA market. Jackpocket only operates in states where it has the explicit approval of local regulators, so it will not reenter the California market until the lottery gives it the green light.

Until the Jackpocket app returns, players may only buy California Lottery tickets in-person at authorized retailers.

California Sports Betting FAQ

No, but California will likely join the ranks of states with legal sports betting sooner or later.

There’s no question that California’s lawmakers and industry stakeholders want sports betting. The one complicating issue is that the state’s most powerful interests have struggled to reach a consensus on how California should regulate sports betting and who should have a seat at the table.

The first California sports betting sites are likely still several years away from launching. After voters resoundingly rejected two sports betting measures in the November 2022 mid-term election, it is unlikely California will see significant progress before 2024.

Not yet. Tribal casinos and commercial cardrooms want the right to operate retail sportsbooks on their property, but state law must change before anyone can open a sportsbook in California.

Yes – but only for daily fantasy games. FanDuel will offer sports betting if California passes legislation authorizing online sportsbooks.

DraftKings Fantasy accepts California customers. Like FanDuel, DraftKings will offer sports betting if California legalizes mobile betting apps and websites.

Daily fantasy sports and horse racing betting are the only two forms of legalized online betting currently available in California. 

In California, online horse bettors and daily fantasy sports players must be at least 18 years old. If and when online sports betting in California is legalized, the minimum age will likely be 21+.

PrizePicks is currently legal in California, and the popular DFS app serves as the closest alternative option to sports betting for CA residents.