• Legalizing Gambling In California
• Legalizing Gambling In California

This tremendous tax revenue could be just what California needs to survive its current struggles from the pandemic. Maybe, just maybe, the dollar signs will win out and gambling tax revenue can start supporting California

While betting on sports has been legalized in nearly two dozen other states, including New York, New Jersey and Oregon, efforts have bogged down in California, where influential Native American. The movement to legalize sports betting in California faces a busy second half of November as a hearing and tribal input threaten the long opposed measure. Assembly Constitution Amendment 16, authored by Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa) and Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced), would legalize sports betting throughout the state.

Sports gambling could be coming to California in the near future. While 22 states have legalized sports gambling since the Supreme Court's ruling in 2018, California has lagged behind due to a. California Gambling Control Resource Book 2020, pdf The following regulations have recently been approved by the Office of Administrative Law. The regulations below are not included in the most recent version of the California Gambling Law and Regulations. California is one of the states where it was unclear whether it would even consider sports betting legalization. While some forms of gambling are allowed in the state, they are somewhat limited. The state has Indian casinos, the state lottery, cardrooms, charitable gaming, horse racing, and pari-mutuel wagering. Sports betting is not allowed.

California residents have a few good options when it comes to gambling in their state. Unlike several other states with much stricter laws around gambling, Californians currently can enjoy cardrooms, Native American casinos, the California State Lottery, pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing, and charitable gaming. Commercial casino-style gaming, however, is presently still prohibited.

Legalizing Gambling In California

But what about online gambling in California? This emerging market has opened up in many places, bringing in much-needed tax revenue and bolstering struggling states during the COVID-19 epidemic. Stuck at home, many Californians have been looking for a way to enjoy their favorite pastime from a safe social distance, too.

Could we soon see the Golden State legalize online gambling? And what would that mean for California?

New Gambling Laws in California?

In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down a 1992 federal law that had previously banned commercial sports betting in most states. This change opened the door to legalizing the estimated $150 billion in illegal wagers on professional and amateur sports that Americans make every year.

Since this ruling, 22 states have legalized sports gambling, with California contemplating the change but struggling to overcome a number of legislative roadblocks. Two California legislators, however, Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa) and Assemblymember Adam Gray (D-Merced) have taken it upon themselves to draft an amendment to the state’s constitution that would appear on the ballot in November if it is able to pass both houses.

Social and Legislative Roadblocks

The various players here all have different priorities which tend to be at odds of one another. While state legislators’ agendas favor action, tribal casino and poker room operators see the legalization of online gambling as a threat to their businesses in the state. These groups have continued to lobby strongly against the establishment of any new competitors in what they see as their territory.

Any bill that is proposed requires a two-thirds approval from the state legislature, followed by voter approval in a subsequent referendum. Without a consensus among the warring factions, the approval process will be stopped in its tracks. If history is any indicator, gambling legislation has not had a lot of success in California, making it a long-shot at best, despite the interest from several lawmakers.

Recent Legislative Action in California

That said, the forecast for online sports betting does have a brighter outlook than the potential for any online casino legislation in the near future. The 2018 Supreme Court decision that allowed states to legalize sports betting at their discretion definitely opened the door to making sports betting more mainstream in the US and less of a taboo to legislators.

The recent proposal from Dodd and Gray would allow California tribal casinos and racetracks to offer online sportsbooks and online wagering. “We have a duty to bring illegal sports wagering out of the shadows and support our communities with the revenue,” said state Sen. Bill Dodd. “We can’t afford inaction.”

The first step in the legislative process passed when the Democrats on the state’s Senate Governmental Committee advanced their measure in a 9-3 vote in favor.

Pros for California

California lawmakers are watching neighboring states make the most of recent changes to the law, earning significant tax revenue from sports wagering, and in some cases, from Californians.

The tangible benefits of online gambling legislation in California number in the billions. It is estimated that Californians place around $10 billion or more annually in illegal wagers. This money could be harnessed to help combat the $54 billion state budget deficit caused by the catastrophic economic hit the state has taken due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

John Holmes from NoDepositHero comments: “Legalizing online gambling in California would be a tactical move, following the lead of 22 other states, to aid the state’s budget deficit and effectively decriminalize a popular form of entertainment.”

Legalizing Gambling In California

As written, the proposal would funnel revenue generated from sports gambling (10% and 15% for online and mobile bets) into a general fund and be available to “assist the state in recovering from the health and economic damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and to fund priorities related to education, public health and public safety.”

Cons for California

The possible budget boost from legalizing online gambling is still disputed, however. Opponents claim that the income would not come close to supporting the ensuing regulatory costs of such a decision.

Additionally, the state’s influential tribal casinos have banded together to squash debate on the topic for years, maintaining their opposition to a constitutional amendment. They testified to the long list of regulatory challenges that mobile wagering would face, such as how to identify and prevent minors from gambling, how to identify and assist problem gamblers, and how to effectively police against unauthorized and suspicious transactions.

Whether or not these challenges can be addressed by the recent amendment is yet to be seen.

Changes on the Horizon?

Significant legislative change related to online gambling in California still faces a lot of opposition and hurdles to overcome in the near future. Supporters of legalization, however, say that legalized sports gambling could generate $200 million in new revenue in the first year with the potential for $500 million or more in additional years as more sportsbooks go live.

This tremendous tax revenue could be just what California needs to survive its current struggles from the pandemic. Maybe, just maybe, the dollar signs will win out and gambling tax revenue can start supporting California.

We've compiled this legal online betting guide for US players arranged by state, to provide accurate and up to date information on the legal online gambling status and gaming options available within each US state. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive state gambling directory which will empower players with the information to make informed decisions about online gambling.

This state-specific data will include a look at the state laws governing online gambling opportunities from online casinos, online poker, to online sports betting.

Each individual state is approaching the legalization of online gambling differently, thus it is necessary to detail lawfully available state-licensed options, and sanctioned licensed offshore online gambling opportunities. We also address some of the most commonly asked questions about gambling in each state and provide some helpful resources for players to access. This information can only be covered in depth within each of the state pages we offer, which you can find listed within this guide.

Is Online Gambling Legal In My State?

To avoid confusion, we have marked US states which offer state-regulated gambling options in the table below with a check mark. At this moment in time, eight US states have legalized and regulated online gambling in some form. For example:

Online Poker & Casinos:

• Delaware - Online Poker and Online Casino gambling
• Nevada - Online Poker
• New Jersey - Online Poker, Online Casinos
• Pennsylvania - Online Poker, Online Casinos
• West Virginia - Online Poker, Online Casinos

Online Sports Betting & Fantasy Sports

• Illinois - Legalized Online Sports Betting**
• Indiana - Offers Online Sports Betting
• Iowa - Offers Online Sports Betting
• Massachusetts - Fantasy Sports Allowed
• Mississippi - Online Allowed At Casinos Only
• Montana - Legalized Online Sports Betting**
• Nevada - Online Sportsbooks State-wide
• New Jersey - Online Sportsbooks State-wide
• New York - Allows Fantasy Sports And Domestic Sports Betting
• Oregon - Offers Online Sports Betting
• Pennsylvania - Offers Online and Domestic Sports Betting
• Rhode Island - Offers Online and Domestic Sports Betting
• Tennessee - Offers Online Sports Betting Apps
• West Virginia - Online Sports Betting Allowed State-wide

** Legalized but Pending launch

Online Lottery:

• Georgia - Online Lottery Allowed
• Illinois - Online Lottery Allowed
• Kentucky - Online Lottery Allowed
• Michigan - Online Lottery Allowed
• Minnesota - Online Lottery Allowed
• New Hampshire - Online Lottery Allowed
• Pennsylvania - Online Lottery Allowed

Is Licensed Offshore Gambling Legal In My State?

While the above-mentioned states offer regulated online gambling, they still maintain the option to utilize licensed offshore online options. Nearly all US state residents, except those from Washington or Connecticut, can legally access licensed offshore online gambling platforms to play online casino games, poker, or bet on sports.

This is because no state laws in these other 48 states specifically prohibit or allow it - thus operating in a technical grey area, it is still considered safe to use because it is not likely these states will draft and pass legislation to specifically affect domestic access to licensed offshore gaming.

What Is The Minimum Online Gambling Age in the US?

There is no one minimum gambling age in the US as this is set and regulated by each individual state. The minimum gambling age within each state is affected by various factors such as game selected and licensor. By this, we mean state-regulated online gambling options require domestic players, whether residents or visitors, to abide by the state's minimum gambling age for that form of gambling on land within the state's borders.

However, licensed offshore online platforms which offer casino games, poker, and sports betting can lawfully accept players who are at least 18 years of age or older. These licensed offshore online sites also offer players much more in the way of bonuses and perks and the platforms we recommend are all extremely reputable.

U.S. States Where You Can Legally Gamble At 18 And Up

Below you can learn more about the minimum legal online gambling age by state in the USA.

Online Gambling Laws in The United States

Gambling laws can be a rather complex topic these days as there are several US federal gambling laws to account for such as the UIGEA, and the Federal Wire Act, as well as, several individual state gambling laws. The reason for this is because the United States DOJ has said that states have the authority to determine their own destiny concerning both land-based and online gambling.

Afterward, several states moved forward with legalizing some forms of online gambling for their region. Multiple other states are currently in discussions amongst themselves regarding the possibility of embracing this virtual gaming platform in their own territories. As discussed earlier and from what can be read from our laws page, US players outside of WA and CT are permitted access to multiple licensed, certified, and regulated online gambling sites hosted outside of the United States. This is a nice alternative for those players not located in a state with its own regulated form of domestic online gambling.

States With Pending Online Gambling Legislation

US States That Offer Domestic Sportsbooks

US States With Passed Sports Betting Legislation (Pending Launch)