Everything about the California sports betting landscape
You’ll learn about the legal sports gambling age and the best place to bet online and offline.
Contents
How to recognise a great California betting site?
Available to California bettors
Useful how-to videos
Lots of fun betting options
Bitcoin Bonus
Poor live-chat
The Bovada sportsbook has an extensive market for California bettors.
The bonuses at Bovada are solid—not the most generous, but pretty good.
Navigating Bovada is a breeze. There is a reason they have the largest market share of legal online betting in California.
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Available to California bettors
Cryptocurrency boost for welcome bonuses
Posts odds before other sites
No live streaming
When you bet with Bitcoin, BetOnline is a great spot. They give you extra juice on your welcome bonus if you make your first deposit with Bitcoin.
BetOnline has an odds archive, you can do your own research. Their current odds selection is also solid.
BetOnline has been an innovator. As an early adopter of Bitcoin and eSports, they have always been on the cutting edge. This website is a great option for both seasoned and new sports bettors alike.
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Available to California bettors
Extra Bitcoin bonus on first five deposits
Their Loyalty Program has great rewards
Large rollovers for bonuses
For California bettors using Bitcoin, you can double your first five deposits with their Bitcoin welcome bonus.
The sportsbook mainly focuses on US and Canadian sports. Their selection for each is great.
If you are using Bitcoin to bet on North American sports, MyBookie could be your main sportsbook. In fact, their loyalty program would reward you big time.
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Available to California Bettors
Bitcoin friendly
Great Bonuses
No poker room
BetNow offers a welcome bonus that matches 50 percent of your initial deposit.
The welcome bonus is worth up to $1,000.
BetNow focuses mainly on sports. This is great for those who aren’t too concerned with casino options.
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Available to California bettors
Great live betting
Accepts Bitcoin
Large rollovers for bonuses
Being new on the block has its advantages. XBet has great modern features, such as its contemporary live betting features.
The odds at XBet are top-notch. You won’t miss anything here.
While the welcome bonus is not the best, this modern sportsbook offers plenty of other amenities to make it a great choice for California bettors, especially those looking for exciting live bets.
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If you are not looking for best betting sites in any particular state or for options across the US or worldwide, we recommend our main page for the top sports betting websites.
California Betting
Proposition 1A
This voter-approved amendment to the California Constitution opened up the possibility of casinos on Native American Reservations
Pechanga Resort and Casino
California’s largest resort is also in wine country, making for a full-package.
Golden Gate Fields Park
Outside of Berkely, this is the only horse racing track remaining in Northern California.
The earliest we might see a California sports betting proposal gaining traction again would be in 2026, though many reports suggest 2028 is a more realistic expectation. To make sports betting a reality in California, collaboration between major sportsbooks and the state’s tribes would be essential. Here is the latest news;
While offline sports betting remains illegal in California, some forms of gambling, such as poker, have been legal in California for over a century. In 1984, the Golden State began to seriously regulate the gaming industry. At that time, it charged the Attorney General with creating uniform state-wide regulation. However, it did not have a lot of teeth.
The creation of the California Bureau of Gambling Control in 1998 increased regulation significantly. Also, in 2000, Californians voted on and passed Proposition 1A. This opened up the possibility for people to found casinos on Native American Reservations.
California currently has more casinos than any other US state. They are all on Native American Reservations and are dotted throughout the region. They are fun, but they can be far away and difficult to access.
Currently, the legal gambling age in California is 18. At land casinos, many people who are at the legal age to bet in California are turned away because alcohol is also served. So essentially, everyone has to be 21. Online betting sites do serve Californians between 18 and 21 years old.
People in California can legally and easily join and enjoy online betting sites. We have gone through them systematically and compared them side-by-side. So, you can be sure that these are the best California online sports betting sites.
California has three race tracks in the state: Santa Anita, Del Mar, and Los Alamitos. They are all in Southern California. This makes off-track betting in California especially important for those in the north of the state.
Off-track and in-person horse racing have been legal in Southern California since 1987 and in Northern California since 1985. California has a few off-track betting locations scattered throughout the state. But they tend to be located far away from cities and most people.
Off-track betting online is also legal throughout California. Our recommended California sports betting sites also have racebooks. You can enjoy off-track betting at any time right from your house.
At present, sports betting in California is not legal. But, with a thriving sports industry, the Golden State is perfectly positioned to be at the center of the sports betting industry in the United States. Those sports enthusiasts that can’t find quality sports in California often have to travel to neighboring states to find legal sports betting, such as Nevada and the City of Sin.
Sadly, California’s most recent sports wagering efforts have been heavily criticized by the Native American owners—notably when it comes to online wagering. There is some hope for 2026, but many believe online gambling in California won’t become a reality until 2028 at the earliest.
Recent developers in the state have brought hope to the much-contested issue. With various cities backing the change, a new proposal now needs to be brought forward after the rejection of Propositions 26 and 27 in 2022. While nothing is certain, sportsbooks are looking forward to the potential legalization of sports betting in the near future. Much of it rests in the politics of the state, so it remains to be seen how things will unfold in the coming years. For now, we will highlight all the major sports betting initiatives that have been in place and tell you about the current betting options for California residents.
A modification to the state Constitution’s prohibition against casinos and lotteries (California Proposition 1A, Gambling on Tribal Lands Amendment) was approved on March 7, 2020. The bill authorized Governor to negotiate the use of lost machines, lottery games, banking, and percentage card games.
The bill was won by over 64% of the vote and marks a wave of change within the state’s interests. Given the development of sports betting in 2022, 2023 is likely to see state Governors addressing further amendments to state law.
Pechanga Resort Casino is situated on the west coast of California and is one of the most idyllic casino locations in the state. But the real value of this resort is what lies inside, boasting an unrivaled service along with all the comforts expected of a world-class casino.
Covering all the major bases of any casino resort, Pechanga expert standard gambling with a blend of traditional casino games. A near-endless range of modern slot machines leaves high rollers with the perfect entertainment.
A flagship casino in the state and one that offers a great sports betting experience to residents that wait on the ongoing law change.
Citizens residing in California are blessed with one of the most iconic racetracks in the country. The Golden State Fields Park is located in Albany, California and Berkeley, just down from the shoreline of San Francisco Bay.
The home to the King of Sports in the state, bettors flock for a wonderful day out in the sun to see some of the best racing in the country. CA fans will be dazzled with the buzzing sights and sounds, as the pounding of hoofs offers unrivalled horse racing action.
Certain forms of gambling are legal in California. These include Native American casinos, cardrooms, the California State Lottery, and parimutuel horse race gambling. Residents of California can also legally enjoy online betting sites.
Charitable gambling is also explicitly legal in California. You can leverage this for a good cause.
Offline sports betting is currently illegal in California. State lawmakers are considering bills that could legalize it within the coming year. But as of now, sports betting is verboten.
Some exceptions to these rules are parimutuel horse race betting and online sports betting sites. If you want to bet on professional sports teams in California, you’d be best off checking out an online sports betting site.
Betting on sports in California is legal and available on lots of offshore sports betting sites. No sportsbooks are legally operating inside the Golden State, though.
Going online has other advantages as well. It is much more convenient and comfortable. You can do it on the go with your phone or from the comfort of your home. Also, the drinks are about 20 times cheaper!
California has more casinos than any other state in the country. With 69 casinos spread across 62 Native American tribes, you have plenty of casino options in California.
These casinos host more than 70,000 slots machines. Sixteen of the casinos also double as resorts, where you can spend a whole relaxing weekend.
California has lots of casinos dotting its landscape. But only one can be the biggest.
The Pechanga Resort and Casino is 188,000 sq. ft. They house over 4,500 slot machines and 154 card tables. You can find Pechanga in Temecula, CA, situated between Los Angeles and San Diego.
Online gambling is always an option in California as well!
The Cache Creek Casino and Resort is located at 14455 CA-16, Brooks, California 95606-0065. You can call them at their toll-free phone number: (800) 452-8181.
It is the second biggest in the state. They have 2,400 slot machines and 122 table games spread out over their 74,720 square feet.
The technical legal gambling age in California is 18. With that said, so many casinos in the state are also bars or places where they serve alcohol. This means that, in practice, offline gambling can be very difficult for anyone between 18 and 21 years of age.
Online gambling in California is legal and accessible for this age group, as the online betting sites, of course, don’t serve alcohol.
The Santa Anita Park horse racing track is tops in California. It has hosted the Breeder’s Cup several times. It is also the annual host of the Santa Anita Derby and Santa Anita Handicap. You can enjoy races here in Fall, Winter, and Spring.
It is located at 285 W Huntington Dr, Arcadia, CA 91007. This racetrack, just outside of Los Angeles, right on the border of the Angeles National Forest. It is a great destination for Southern Californians.
The best sports betting sites in California are the ones that combine ease of use and great bonuses with accessibility for California bettors. We are experts on ranking sports betting sites. After opening accounts in so many and giving them a run, we can be sure that the sites on this page are the best out there.
As we mentioned before, sports wagering is illegal unless it’s with tribal gaming organizations—bookmakers like Fanduel and DraftKings are unavailable. That is, unless the state of California gets enough signatures at the Senate and a bill is given to the Supreme Court to amend the law. But, as it stands, legalization is still a ways off.
As online sportsbooks are illegal, sports betting markets for the NFL, NHL, and daily fantasy sports are unlikely to be available until at least 2026. Wagering at tribal casinos is still an option for players, but it doesn’t match the sports wagering opportunities bettors would find somewhere like Las Vegas, Nevada.
It’s really difficult to say with confidence. The next opportunity is likely to be in the coming years, as we recently had a vote to say no to legalized gambling. Keep checking back with this page to get the latest.
About the Author
Trent’s your man when it comes to all things sports. He covers a wide range of sports for Sports Betting Sites, and has been published in some pretty reputable outlets, such as USA Today Sports, Vice, Bloody Elbow, Fight! Magazine, UFC 360, and Narratively. Trent’s got the inside track on all the happenings in the world of sports.
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