California Daily Fantasy Sports Sites

All mainstream DFS operators offer real-money contests in California, so players can choose from a wide variety of contest types. BettingUSA’s recommended California fantasy sports apps provide everything from daily leagues to fantasy props and trading exchanges, but all are experienced and hold licenses in other states.

California Fantasy Sports Law

California tolerates but does not regulate daily fantasy sports. Although state law does not directly address fantasy sports, all major DFS brands operate in California and accept customers 18 or older without interference from local authorities.

Fans should exercise caution in choosing where to play since California doesn’t regulate DFS contests. However, mainstream operators like the ones listed above already conform to the consumer protection regulations other states have adopted.

In other words, playing daily fantasy sports in California doesn’t have to be an adventure into lawlessness. Instead, fans can indirectly benefit from other states’ consumer protection measures by selecting fantasy sports apps and websites licensed elsewhere.

One benefit of California’s lax approach to daily fantasy sports is that it has opened the doors to a wide range of operators offering unique types of contests. Between FanDuel’s daily fantasy games and PrizePicks proposition contests, California DFS players have more options than fans in most states.

Will California Legalize Daily Fantasy Sports?

The California legislature hasn’t considered legislation to regulate daily fantasy sports since 2016 because the obstacles that derailed the last effort remain in place today.

The last attempt to regulate California daily fantasy sports sites began in 2015 with Assemblyman Adam Gray introducing AB 1437 to establish a licensing process and consumer protection regulations. Later, Assemblyman Gray amended the bill to add provisions regarding responsible advertising and segregating players’ funds from fantasy sports sites’ operating funds.

The bill sailed through the Assembly by votes of 18-1 and 62-1 in January 2016 to send it to the Senate. However, it died in the Senate over opposition from influential tribal gaming operators and anti-gambling groups that described it as an unconstitutional gambling expansion.

Two tribal operators opposed the bill on the grounds that it amounted to an expansion of gambling, which would require a constitutional amendment and voter approval. Additionally, they expressed frustration that California had moved so quickly to legalize fantasy sports while ignoring online poker.

However, Assemblyman Gray noted that AB 1437 did not address the issue of daily fantasy’s legality under California law. Instead, he said the bill proposed a regulatory environment should the California Attorney General issue an opinion that fantasy sports do not qualify as gambling under state law.

At the time, former California Attorney General Kamala Harris was expected to rule whether fantasy sports constitute illegal gambling under state law. However, she never issued the ruling, and DFS sites continue to operate in California under the current status quo.

In addition to regulating fantasy sports sites and instituting a licensing process, AB 1437 would have established a minimum age of 21 to participate. Additionally, the bill would have given the California Department of Justice oversight powers and the authority to adopt new regulations as needed.

Ultimately, pro-DFS lawmakers could not overcome the obstacles AB 1437 faced in the Senate, and it died without further action.

Fortunately for fantasy sports fans, AB 1437’s failure has had no discernible effect on the ground. All mainstream California daily fantasy sites already provide a standard array of consumer protection measures required by laws in other states.

Since then, there have been no concerted efforts to reintroduce legislation to regulate California fantasy sports. Even so, numerous DFS operators remain active throughout the state. Thus, legalizing DFS in California would be a formality at this point.

California Daily Fantasy Sports FAQ