The residents of the following American states can legally play online casino games at the best US online casinos. New Jersey – New Jersey legalized online gambling in 2013, enabling its land-based casinos to apply for online gambling licenses and offer online casinos and online.
As is the case in most states, there are currently no regulations that cover online casinos in the state of California. That means that just about every gaming company that serves in the United States is accessible by players in California.
Online Casino For California Residents 2020
The online gambling market is a gray market, but there are a number of land-based casinos in the state. All of the brick-and-mortar casinos are operated by Native American tribes. Some are big enough to be considered full-scale resorts, and they’re certainly a destination for those wanting to gamble in the Golden State.
There are no laws in place that make it illegal for Californians to bet on sports or play casino games over the internet. There have been bills introduced in the state legislature with the goal of legalizing and regulating online gaming, but none have been passed into law as of yet.
The Gambling Control Act was passed in California back in 1997. That, of course, preceded the internet, which means the law only applies to gambling and card rooms within the state’s borders.
While you can always make a drive to one of the land-based casinos in the state, nothing beats the convenience of placing bets from your home computer or mobile device. So, with that in mind, which are the best California online casinos? Our top-rated online casinos for California players are as follows:
Will California Legalize and Regulate Online Casinos in the Near Future?
While none of the aforementioned proposals have ever made it all the way through the state legislature, many believe California will be one of the next states to legalize and regulate online gambling. There are seemingly more and more bills calling for regulation put forth every year, so at this point it seems as though it’s only a matter of time until we see regulation.
That said, it’s not as though legalizing online gambling is at the top of California’s to-do list. The state has had to endure a number of natural disasters in recent years from extended drought to raging wildfires. California has also racked up quite a bit of debt.
While adding the revenue stream that online gambling would create would certainly help with the debt issue, the state has a number of other matters at the forefront. As a result, legalizing and regulating online gambling continues to get pushed to the backburner.
Which Casino Games Are Illegal in California?
There are some casino games that are not prohibited in some brick-and-mortar casinos in the state. Chief among them are roulette and craps, which you won’t find in any land-based casino in the state either.
Roulette and craps are illegal at land-based casinos in California because those in charge are of the belief that neither is a skill-based game. Both are games of chance, so regulators believe the games are too risk-oriented for prospective players.
However, while you won’t be finding any craps or roulette tables on any casino floor, California online casino players are free to play the games over the internet. A site like Cafe Casino, which ranks highly among online casinos accepting CA players, offers craps and roulette legally.
Is it Safe to Bet Online in California?
If you take the time to do the proper research required to find reputable California betting sites, it is very safe to bet and play casino games online in California. A quick web browser search for “safe California betting sites” will lead you directly to some of the safest sites in the industry. Bovada, SportsBetting.ag, and MyBookie.ag are some easy-to-remember, trustworthy names.
Most sites that have been operating for a number of years with good reputations are sites you can feel comfortable trusting with your money. Not every site out there has your best interests in mind, but it is generally fairly easy to identify the safe sites among the online casinos for California players.
Bovada Is Top Among California Players
Because there are no laws in place that ban residents from gambling online, bettors in California can log onto the internet and place wagers with confidence. As is the case in most other states, Bovada is the top dog when it comes to gambling offering in CA.
Bovada has a sterling reputation when it comes to customer service, and they have been around long enough to prove it time and time again. The site is also known for quick payouts and a constant stream of new deposit bonuses and an array of other user-friendly promotions.
You have to be at least 21 years of age to sign up for Bovada in California, but age is really the only restriction.
Most reputable online casinos use this software. Bovada is also good about getting your winnings to you as quickly as possible, and they offer all sorts of deposit and withdrawal methods. You can deposit via a credit card, debit card, gift cards, or you can use a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. It’s really up to you.
Bovada has obtained all the necessary licensing required to run a full casino operation, so you don’t have to look any further to find a legitimate online casino accepting California players. If you want the best in the business, you might as well sign up at Bovada.
You can safely play casino games online in California at the sites recommended above. Bovada leads the pack, but you won’t be unhappy with your experience at sites like MyBookie, Cafe Casino, or Ignition either. These sites offer safety, excellent customer service, and quick payouts. What else could you want out of your online betting experience as a California bettor?
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.The California gambling industry is large and well-regulated, so it should come as no surprise that many i-gaming experts expect it to become one of the next states to legalize local casino and poker sites. For now, the state gives you access to numerous land-based casino resorts and dedicated poker rooms, as well as horse racing, bingo, and a state-run lottery. Most of the California-based gambling establishments are owned by Native American tribes, but the state also licenses private gambling businesses, which are allowed to offer slots, video poker machines ,and traditional table games.
California Gambling Laws
California is very strict when it comes to dealing with unlicensed gambling operators. The California Penal Code makes it illegal to play any games of chance or percentage, unless the games are regulated by the state:
“Every person who deals, plays, or carries on, opens, or causes to be opened, or who conducts, either as owner or employee, whether for hire or not, any game of faro, monte, roulette, lansquenet, rouge et noire, rondo, tan, fan-tan, seven-and-a-half, twenty-one, hokey-pokey, or any banking or percentage game played with cards, dice, or any device, for money, checks, credit, or other representative of value, and every person who plays or bets at or against any of those prohibited games, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punishable by a fine not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by both the fine and imprisonment.”
However, you should keep in mind that California does not have any regulations that prohibit playing at offshore online casino sites. Consequently, the legal status of customers of such sites isn’t very clear. While the state officials could argue that playing for real money over the internet is a misdemeanor, there’s simply no denying the fact that the California doesn’t really focus on penalizing individual players and that no online casino customers have been prosecuted so far.
Online Casinos
While the battle to bring intrastate i-gaming to California rages on, residents of the Golden State who’d like to experience the thrill of playing at an online casino site are pretty much forced to stick with the offshore casinos that have been around for over a decade now. The traffic on those sites is significantly higher than in the case of casinos that operate on fenced intrastate markets, which means that they’re able to offer bigger bonuses and jackpots than their local counterparts.
Offshore Casino Sites That Accept California Players
Most of the US-friendly offshore casinos accept California-based players. Consequently, all California residents are able to access the latest slots and table games from leading software providers like Real Time Gaming or Betsoft. While all of the sites listed here are 100% safe to play on, you should keep in mind that some of the less popular California-facing casinos you’ll find online might turn out to be nothing more than blatant scam attempts due to the fact that it might be hard for California residents to take legal action against unregulated sites.
Please note that depositing to offshore casinos isn’t as convenient as in the case of local sites that operate on intrastate markets. Most players prefer to fund their account using a Visa/Amex/MasterCard credit card, but if you decide to use this method you should keep in mind that the transaction might be refused. In such a case, it is generally better to deposit via Western Union or MoneyGram, as those services are 100% reliable for US-based customers. All of the aforementioned sites will allow you to withdraw via a wire transfer, but in some cases you might be able to cash out via a check by courier or Western Union/MoneyGram money order.
Developing Legal Scenarios
Despite the failure to pass the i-gaming bill SB1463 due to the conflicting interests among the Native American tribal casino owners and local gambling operators, it seems that California is going to launch its own intrastate online casino market by 2015. The recently proposed Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2014 is expected to pass despite the resistance of some of the local lobbying groups, which would allow the existing real money gaming centers to launch their own online gambling sites upon obtaining a 10-year long intrastate gaming license.