California Online Sports Betting

A California Superior Court judge on Thursday made official his tentative ruling to allow a coalition of federally-recognized tribes 90 more days to collect signatures for a legal sports betting.

It’s not hard to find a place to gamble in California. The state features almost 100 card rooms and more than 50 tribal California casinos.

However, California is a house divided when it comes to legalized sports betting. At this point, America’s largest state has no definite timeframe for the introduction of wagering on sporting events instate. Proposals continue to surface though, which means interested parties abound.

1. Facing a massive budget shortfall in 2020, California sports betting looked like it could become a reality in the coming years. This was always going to be an uphill battle because of heavy tribal casino presence and influence. Ultimately, that's what halted California's sports betting bill and pushed its legalization date to 2023 at the earliest.
2. Read more Super Bowl 55 Sports Betting Bonuses and Promotions. Brooklyn Nets vs Philadelphia 76ers Picks, Spread and Prediction. Date/Time:, 20:00 EDT Spread: Philadelphia.
3. Online Sports Betting In California The online sportsbook is another betting option currently unavailable to those located in California. Folks with legal residencies in states where online sports betting is legal (like Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) cannot place a bet in those states unless they’re physically located within state lines.
4. If you set up an online sports betting account in California, you can only use it to make bets inside the state boundaries. Online gambling is regulated at the state level, not the federal level, so California.

California residents do have the option to play DFS and enter into sweepstakes type contests. DraftKings, FanDuel and FendOff Sports all operate within the state of California.

Win real cash prizes with sports contests in CA

At the center of this interminable delay are the competing interests of three stakeholders in the Golden State. The three entities in question are:

• Tribal interests
• Cardrooms
• Racetracks

At this point, California would have to pass a constitutional amendment in order to bring sports betting inside its borders. Due to language in a 2000 ballot initiative, the tribal casinos in California have claimed a de jure jurisdiction over all gambling types, including sports betting.

Recent movement on sports betting in California

Democratic Assemblyman Adam Gray of Merced failed to get traction with two previous sports betting proposals. Those included an assembly bill in 2016 and a constitutional amendment in 2017.

During the same time period, an advocacy group called Californians for Sports Betting announced its intention to push for ballot initiatives that would repeal the constitutional language from 2000 that placed so much power in the hands of Native American groups. Needless to say, the tribal interests were not amused. They used their political power to kill almost any mention of sports betting legalization in 2018.

Gray’s failed attempts thus far haven’t deterred him. On June 27, 2019, Gray, along with state Sen. Bill Dodd, introduced into the California Assembly and Senate ACA 16. The amendment would give the CA Legislature the power to authorize and regulate sports betting in the state.

For an amendment to become law in California, first, identical versions need to pass in both the Assembly and Senate by a 2/3 margin. It then must pass the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom before going onto the ballot, where it needs a simple majority vote. If ACA makes it through both houses, it could arrive on the November 2020 ballot.

California tribes put a horse in the race

On Nov. 13, a coalition of 18 California tribes filed papers with the state attorney general’s office for a sports betting initiative of their own.

“The California Sports Wagering and Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act” would allow sports wagering in tribal gaming casinos and licensed racetracks. It also includes a proposed 10% tax on gross gaming revenue from sports betting to be used for regulatory costs, public safety, education, and mental health programs.

The amendment would allow wagers on professional, college and some amateur sports. Interestingly, it would prohibit betting on high school contests and games involving California college teams, which will likely be a major point of contention. Another point of contention is the lack of inclusion of mobile or online gambling provisions.

The initiative would also strengthen the power of the California attorney general’s office to regulate gambling. The amendment, if passed as is, would also allow tribal casinos to begin offering roulette and craps.

Like ACA 16, the tribes’ amendment proposal would need to get through the California Legislature before making its way to the 2020 ballot. While it’s unlikely to gain the necessary approval in its current form, the tribal interest seems like a step in the right direction for legalized sports betting.

The largest sports betting market in the country

The AGA estimates Americans wagered $154 billion on sports in 2016. It also claims nearly all of those wagers were illegal.

Broken down by population, that would mean California’s approximately 39.14 million people bet an estimated $18.7 billion on sports in 2016. California is the largest state in America, so it would likely represent the largest sports betting market in the country.

According to Legal Sports Report, that activity would generate first-year revenues of around $100 million. While that figure is a drop in the bucket for California’s $180 billion state budget, it would still be a chunk of new income for a state with budgetary issues.

The wheels appear to be in motion for sports betting to go to a popular vote in 2020. What is less clear is whether it will be the California Legislature or the California tribal interests holding the reigns on regulation.

What would a legal sports betting market look like in California?

Based upon the various attempted proposals in the state, California sports betting would feature:

• Licensed gaming facilities could take live bets on sports. Online/mobile wagering may be off-limits, depending which body is overseeing regulations.
• Players wagering would have to be 21 or older as well as inside California’s borders to bet.
• There would be licensing fees andtaxes on revenues for operators.
• Wagers could be placed on professional, college and some amateur sports. If tribal interests get their way, wagering on games involving California college teams may be prohibited.

The biggest questions surrounding the future California sports betting market include who will be doing the regulating and which facilities will be authorized to accept wagers. With all the competing interests at play, these aren’t simple questions to answer.

Whether either or both of the most recent initiatives make it to the 2020 ballot remains to be seen. The biggest threat to getting sports betting legalized in the Golden State remains dispute over regulatory power and competing stakeholder interests.

The three stakeholder groups have shown no hesitation about contesting progress on bills that look to cut them out of the profits, no matter the cost. The tribes in particular have demonstrated willingness to go to great lengths also to protect their authority over gambling regulation.

Sports betting laws in the United States

Of course, in times past, the proposed sports betting bills had to contend with the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). PASPA became law in 1992, making Nevada the only state allowed to offer legal sports betting.

In May of 2018, the US Supreme Court ruled that PASPA was unconstitutional and struck down the federal ban on sports betting. Now that the major hurdle is out of the way, the floodgates for state-regulated sports wagering have opened. California is already late to the party, but could be one of the next to join in.

Daily fantasy sports in California

Daily fantasy sports (DFS) can sometimes serve as an appetizer for sports betting in states. The relatively new industry shares many of the same characteristics. Its two main companies, DraftKings and FanDuel, are having little difficulty expanding their businesses into bona fide sports betting and gambling.

With regard to the Golden State, one half of the California legislature stood firmly behind a daily fantasy sports (DFS) bill in 2016. The bill breezed through committee hearings. It then came up one vote shy of passing unanimously in the California Assembly.

From there, the Senate sat on the bill. It added an amendment in June. The bill headed to committee, where it died. The San Manuel and Morongo bands of Mission Indians that own and operate a pair of Native American casinos in the state voiced opposition.

Even with the legality of DFS in California still an open question, major operators continue doing business. Lawmakers seem disinterested in stopping them either.

This means there is no legal framework, fees, or taxes associated with DFS operations in California. However, these operations still accept California players, albeit by functioning in what amounts to a grey area.

More and more states are legalizing sports betting, and the pace just keeps getting faster. But one state is lagging significantly behind the national trend: California.

Online Betting Sites Legal

Legally speaking, California is not a particularly gambling-friendly state. This trend continues today, as multiple pushes for sports betting legalization have stalled due to political infighting between tribal casinos and other political blocs.

Below, we’ll break down everything you need to know about California sports betting and whether you can expect the situation to change in the near future.

Latest In California Sports Betting

The story of California sports betting and attempts for legalization is mired in political drama.

Background

In brief, California gambling activities are largely in the hands of tribal casinos. California card rooms, which operate on state soil, are allowed to offer certain types of card-based gambling activities. However, there’s no denying that tribal casinos have almost a complete monopoly on gambling within the state.

This has led to attempts by groups or individuals outside the tribal casino leadership to legalize sports betting. But they’ve hit several roadblocks.

Previous Sports Betting Legalization Attempts

Twice previously, sports betting proposals in 2016 and 2017 (an assembly bill and a constitutional amendment) were shot down by the California legislature. Similarly, a group called Californians for Sports Betting attempted to push ballot initiatives through that would repeal certain constitutional language from earlier in the millennium.

These attempts were meant to allow other operators to offer sports betting, which would dissolve any tribal casino monopoly. However, because tribal casinos have significant political power in California, all of these attempts at sports betting legalization were stifled just as they were gaining steam in 2018.

More recently, the Democratic Assemblyman Adam Gray introduced ACA 16: a constitutional amendment that would give the California legislature the power to regulate and authorize any sports betting activities in the state instead of tribal casino political blocs.

However, passing an amendment is difficult as it requires passage in both the Senate and the Assembly by a margin of two thirds. Then, it has to be signed by the governor (currently Gavin Newsom). Even after that, the amendment still has to be voted on by the public, where it needs to win by a simple majority.

Meanwhile, State Senator Bill Dodd filed a similar measure for passage by the Senate that did not reach the critical mass necessary to move further down the political process. It met significant resistance from tribal lobbyists and other groups in the state legislature.

Tribal Sports Betting Legalization Attempt

In response, California tribes filed a sports betting initiative of their own creation on November 13, 2019. This eventually came to be called the California Sports Wagering and Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act.

In a nutshell, it would give tribal gaming casinos and licensed racetracks the ability to offer sports wagering instead of opening up the opportunity to other groups and operators. Furthermore, it would allow wagers on professional, college, and amateur sports, although no California college teams would be included with the sports betting markets. Even worse, mobile and online gambling provisions are markedly absent from the proposed Act.

This Act may have much better chances than either of the above other sports betting pushes. In order to be put on the 2020 ballot, the Act needed approximately 100,000 verified signatures by June 25. The tribes did not reach this goal, but they successfully lobbied for an extension, arguing that coronavirus-related social distancing measures were responsible for the lack of signature collection.

Now the deadline for the 2020 ballot is October 12. It’s still unlikely that the tribes will be able to collect enough signatures given this short extension. However, the tribes could easily file the same Act with slightly modified language and attempt to have it placed on the 2022 ballot.

At the time of this writing, this Act is the most straightforward chance Californians have to enjoy sports betting in any way.

Best Options For Sports Wagering In California

Given the fact that legal sports betting in California is at least several years away, sports wagering enthusiasts will need to turn to other options. Aside from visiting other states that have already legalized in-person and online sports betting, daily fantasy sports represent an opportunity to scratch the same kind of itch.

Why is daily fantasy sports legal but sports betting is not? In California, daily fantasy sports occupy a great legal area where the activity is neither explicitly legal nor illegal since it’s not fairly or thoroughly defined in any state legislation.

As a result, big operators like DraftKings and FanDuel do offer daily fantasy sports at this time even though the California legislature could theoretically make DFS illegal later.

Daily fantasy sports is technically classified as a game of skill instead of chance, so it skirts under the radar of most Californian anti-gambling legislation. Here’s a quick look at some of the best DFS operators Californians can enjoy.

DraftKings

DraftKings is huge in the DFS scene, and it offers a generous welcome bonus of $20 in site credit when you create a new account and deposit five dollars. You can also benefit from a deposit match of up to $500.

Special promotions appear on the platform frequently, and most of these are based on the current sports season. A robust rewards program is also in place for frequent players. Most impressive is the wide range of DFS markets available, ranging from staple professional sports, like football, all the way to niche markets, like esports’ League of Legends.

FanDuel

FanDuel is another extremely popular DFS mobile app and desktop platform. The first opening bonus includes $5 for free play. The second is another $5 on first deposit. This is enough entice someone to make an account, even just to check things out over the short term.

Special beginner contests and a simplistic loyalty program make FanDuel’s DFS platform well worth your while. Frequent players will be able to redeem points for entry into contests and special prizes. Innovative features like the ability to edit your lineups after you enter DFS contests means that it’s a perfect DFS platform for finicky or indecisive players.

Other DFS Sites

Alongside the above two daily fantasy sports giants, there are new “prop fantasy sports” sites that have recently come onto the scene.

Monkey Knife Fight

Monkey Knife Fight only launched in 2018 and it’s now the third biggest DFS platform in North America. It makes enjoying DFS incredibly easy for new players. The 100% deposit match bonus worth up to $50 is a great attraction.

Creating a Monkey Knife Fight account is quick and easy, and you only need to be 18 to start playing. Monkey Knife Fight also differs from other DFS operators in that it focuses on letting you place bets on set amounts of money instead of picking players that will achieve specific results.

For instance, Monkey Knife Fight might offer you the following wager: will Player A score above or below 12 points? You, the player, choose over or under and wins based on the result. This makes DFS quick and easy for newcomers and the mechanics are incredibly intuitive. You can make deposits with credit and debit cards, plus make withdrawals the same way or via PayPal.

PrizePicks

The other new DFS platform is called PrizePicks. Like Monkey Knife Fight, PrizePicks has you focus more on predictions with individual athletes instead of looking at team statistics.

They offer a deposit bonus of $25 right off the bat, plus a deposit match bonus of up to $1000. This is quite impressive since most DFS operators don’t go this high with their opening bonuses.

Ultimately, both fast-paced DFS sites are good choices if you’re in the mood for something new and innovative.

California Sports Betting Apps & Sites

If California was to legalize sports betting we would expect the following sportsbooks to launch.

• Caesars Sportsbook
• BetMGM Sportsbook
• BetRivers Sportsbook

How Big The California Sports Betting Market Would Be

If, and when, California finally legalizes sports betting, it’ll be walking into among the most profitable markets in the country.

In short, California has the most professional sports teams. It also has the largest population out of any other state in the country. As a result, one would expect it to also enjoy higher sports betting engagement.

Chris Grove, of research firm Eilers and Krejcik Gaming, estimates that the sports betting market could be worth $2.5+ billion per year in California. This is high in comparison to other sports betting profits from states like New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

As a result, this represents a significant potential tax revenue increase for the state government. Given these potential riches, it’s unlikely that sports betting will remain illegal forever.

California Sports Betting FAQ

The soonest that sports betting will realistically launch in California is 2022. Even though the aforementioned tribal sports betting act could be approved in 2020, this is highly unlikely.

This depends on the terms of the legal agreements. But more than likely, sports bettors will need to be 21 years of age or older.

Any California sports betting will likely be regulated by the California Gambling Control Commission.

As the bill currently stands the Tribal casinos will limit sports betting to tribal casinos and racetracks.

Top 10 Online Betting Sites

Yes, there will likely be no online sports betting option as the tribes have historically been against online gambling of any form so there will only be in-person betting.