Is Gambling Legal in California? An In-Depth Look at the State's Gambling Laws
California is one of the most fascinating and intriguing states when it comes to gambling.
As the most populous state with more than 40 million Californians, the possibilities for retail and online casinos are nearly endless. For those who prefer to shoot dice or spin the slot machines in person, California is home to the most Tribal and First Nation Casinos in the country. Also, the debate about legalizing online casinos and sports betting continues to rage on in the Golden State. From A to Z, this article goes through the complicated but amazing history of the legalities surrounding gambling in the Golden State.
A Historical Overview of Gambling in California
Believe it or not, legal land-based gambling has been available in California since 1933, technically. The state legislature legalized parimutuel gambling in 1933. From that moment on, several horse racing venues, especially the Golden Gate Fields until its recent closing in Northern California, became prime gambling spots for horse racing. Of course, without official gambling parlors, California officials cracked down on illegal betting activity. However, it wouldn’t be until fifty years later that the Golden State would take its next gigantic step towards furthering and extending gambling throughout California.
What Forms of Gambling Are Legal in California?
1. State Lottery
California established its first state lottery in 1984. After contentious debate and pushback from anti-gambling activists, Californians ultimately approved Proposition 37. The main backing and argument that ultimately led to the creation of the California State Lottery was funding for public education. It wouldn’t be until October 1985 that the Golden State began accepting the first lottery tickets. Throughout the years, the California State Lottery has become the biggest in the nation with some of the biggest Mega Millions and Powerball lottery winners coming from the Golden State.
2. Tribal and Commercial Casinos
Today’s modern-day California casino experience owes a great deal of gratitude to the First Nations who fought and campaigned vigorously throughout the 1980s for the right to establish retail casinos on their reservations. In 1987, thanks to the United States Supreme Court’s decisive ruling in the “California vs. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians,” the First Nations in California finally had the legal right to build casinos on their reservations.
The results have been nothing short of amazing, with billions of revenue pouring into the Golden State beginning with the formation of the “Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988.” With the dawn of the 1990s, the first wave of Tribal Casinos opened and it has seemingly been non-stop ever since.
With billions pouring into the Golden State from tribal casinos, in 1999, once again, California residents voiced their approval of First Nation casinos by approving Prop 1A. Prop 1A gave the First Nations further rights to negotiate individual compacts with the state of California to operate slot machines and table games that are available at commercial casinos like MGM Grand and Caesars Palace.
3. Sports Betting
The passion and the excitement about California sports betting have been through the roof in recent years. Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the PAPSA ban in 2018, many states have been in a mad dash to legalize sports betting, and California has been one of them. In 2022, California made its first organized attempt to legalize sports betting with two propositions in the November 2022 ballot. However, both measures failed.
The Tribal Casinos strongly backed Prop 26, which would have allowed making sports bets at the First Nation Casinos and horse racing tracks. However, it fell short. Prop 27 seemed like it was destined to pass, especially with the major online sports betting giants like FanDuel and DraftKings pouring millions to get it to pass. However, in the 11th hour, Californians ultimately voted against legalizing online and mobile sports betting.
4. Social and Sweepstakes Casinos
With so many near misses with sports betting and online casinos, California doesn’t have strict laws against social casinos. In recent years, social casinos have swept the nation, because they are widely more available compared to traditional online casinos that are only available in seven states. Also, with social casinos, players can use free coins to play the games for free. Because of this factor, more people approve of this style of gambling, because players suffering from addiction, or other gaming disorders don’t have to reach into the wallets to essentially feed their habit.
Also, sweepstakes casinos, which is an option at these same social casinos, use sweepstakes coins to simulate an online gambling experience. However, they can’t accept real money bets, which would be a violation of their agreements with California’s gaming agency. Ultimately, the most populous state in the nation can legally play the latest casino games without risking it by playing at offshore online casinos.
What Gambling Activities are Illegal in California?
1. Online Casinos
As Californians went to the polls to vote for sports betting, they also had the chance to legalize organized online gambling in California in 2022. But, after a close call, Californians ultimately rejected the measure to legalize online casinos in California, but not by much. The main point of contention was Californians concerned about gambling addiction, which was one of the main arguments to turn away from legalizing sports betting.
While betting on online slots and blackjack, for example, are illegal, Californians can legally bet on daily fantasy sports at sites like DraftKings and FanDuel. California is home to many storied sports franchises like the Warriors, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Los Angeles Lakers, so California picks up much revenue from daily fantasy sports.
In addition to making legal bets at social casinos, Californians are free to bet on online horse racing. Thanks to the Horseracing Act of 1978, Californians can make online horse racing wagers at select sites legal. They can get on real life horse races and fictional horse racing events that are determined by random number generators.
2. Unlicensed Gambling Activities
The state of California takes illegal gambling and underage gambling very seriously. In recent months, officials cracked down on illegal gambling activity in the city of Oakland that had unauthorized slot machines and other illegal casino machines. Since being established in 1998, the California Gambling Control Commission keeps a close eye on illegal gambling activity, and works closely with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies like the Oakland Police Department to crack down on with severe punishments.
The Future of Gambling in California
Even with the narrow defeat of sports betting in 2022, the measure showed that more Californians are warming up to the idea. Major casinos and online sports betting operators have voiced concern that sooner or later, legal online casinos and sports betting will become official in the Golden State. With First Nations controlling the retail casinos, they would have to ultimately approve of these measures to get them over the hump.
