California casinos

California Casinos Online

With more than 40 million people living in California this is the most populated state in America. It’s also a place where gambling is incredibly wide spread as hundreds of different gambling establishments are operating in the state. We’re talking about tribal casinos offering thousands of slots, numerous table games and regular poker tournaments, as well as card clubs offering table games and amazing poker action. With all of these venues around there can’t be much to wish for or can there? It seems so.

Even though gambling is easily accessible in California many of us are looking to play casino online – for many reasons. It’s not only incredibly convenient, but it’s also the only way of playing roulette and craps, and betting on sports as these gambling activities are illegal in the state. There are many other benefits as well which we have taken a closer look at on the following page. In addition to this, we have gathered all of the best casinos in California that can be played at online and shared plenty of other valuable information.  

Best online casinos in California listed and reviewed

If you’re looking for a world class casino experience all of the gambling sites that we have listed below are great choices. These have been carefully picked by us for offering top qualify safety standards; a wide variety of games; 24/7 support; fantastic bonus rewards among many other things.

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What’s the experience like at the above listed casinos?

When we choose the best California casinos to list we take a lot of factors into consideration with some of these factors weighing more heavily towards our decision than others. Safety and reliability is for instance incredibly important. We do, however, try to provide a somewhat versatile list of gambling sites so that every type of gambling enthusiast can find their perfect match.

While many things are similar such as a professional customer support always being available and plenty of casino games always being offered, this means that the experience will vary a bit. Some of our listed sites do for instance have banking options that others don’t and some do for instance offer sports betting and poker against other players while others only offer casino games.  

All in all you can, however, expect the following from our recommended gambling sites:

  • More than 200 different slots, including progressive jackpot machines
  • Plenty of table games such as blackjack, roulette, baccarat and craps
  • A live dealer section where you can play table games against real dealers
  • Several banking options such as Visa, Mastercard, Wire Transfer & Bitcoins
  • A very valuable welcome bonus giving you extra cash on your first deposit
  • Regular cashbacks, lottery draws, competitions and deposit bonuses
  • Exclusive rewards and good will bonuses for being a loyal player
  • Smooth cash outs that are usually approved within 48 hours
  • Professional support available on chat, e-mail & phone 24/7
  • Betting on more than 20 sports, eSports and horse racing
  • Plenty of tournaments and cash games in Texas Hold’em and Omaha
  • SSL encryption; stable servers; ID verification and RNG approved games

How do I gamble at online casinos in California?

Gambling over the internet is incredibly easy and shouldn’t be a problem for anyone no matter their level of experience. With that being said there are a couple of things that are good to know about. To cover these as well the very basics of playing online we have created a step-by-step guide below.

Step 1. Choose a gambling site to play at

All of the best California casinos that we have listed for online gambling are top quality sites that are likely to provide you with a satisfying experience. As mentioned earlier they do, however, have some differences between them. If you’re looking for something in particular, like combining casino games with sports betting, you may want to check out a couple of sites before deciding where to play. 

Step 2. Create a casino account

Similar to land based casinos in California you need a personal account to gamble online. This is easily fixed by clicking the sign up button at the casino. You’ll be asked to provide some personal details about yourself such as name, date of birth and home address. Make sure that you enter correct ones as these will have to be verified before your first withdrawal request can be approved. 

As soon as you have an account created you’ll be able to play the vast majority of the casino’s games for free. Should you like to you can just click on a slot machine or table game and you’ll get the option of enjoying it with demo credits.

Step 3. Take part of bonus offers

While this step is optional it’s highly recommended that you take part of as many bonus offers as you can as these will boost your long term chances of winning. Many online casinos in California have a wide selection of different promotions that are regularly replaced by new ones. As a new player you will also get an exclusive welcome bonus that will match your first deposit with extra cash.

Before funding your account with money we suggest that you check out the casino’s promotional page to see what they have in store for you. Make sure to read through the terms and conditions that the bonuses come with. These will tell you how the offers are activated and if there’s something special that you have to do with them such as fulfilling a wagering requirement. 

Step 4. Fund your account with money

Depositing money into your casino account is just as easy as making any type of online purchase. You’ll find a cashier in the menu of the gambling site and here you’ll get the option of funding your account with several different payment methods. If you choose to use a debit card your account will be instantly funded, while bitcoins can take up to 2 hours and wire transfers a couple of days.

Step 5. Let the real money gambling begin

There’s not much to say about this step. All of the casino’s games can be instantly enjoyed in your web browser – there’s no need to download any software. Just indulge in whatever type of gambling you’re interested in and don’t be afraid of trying out something new. Learning a new game is usually easy as all of them have detailed rules and pay tables explaining everything you need to know.

Step 6. Request a cash out of your winnings

If lady luck has been treating you nicely you want to secure your profits by cashing out. This is a similar process to depositing. Just head to the cashier and choose the payment method that you would like to withdraw with. You usually won’t find debit cards as an option, but alternatives normally include bitcoins, wire transfer, check by courier and person to person.

Once your withdrawal is requested this will be handled by the casino within 48 hours. For any money to be sent to you your account does, however, need to be verified. This leads us to the next step.

Step 7. Verifying your casino account

All legitimate online casinos in California take measures to keep their players safe by preventing underage gambling and fraud. They do this by verifying the identity of everyone. This means that you are required to provide the casino with a photo copy of a valid ID such as a driver’s license, passport or any other government issued document.

Your ID can be conveniently uploaded under your account settings at the casino. Once done the gambling site’s risk department will review it – usually within 48 hours. If everything is alright your account will be approved and all of your withdrawal requests handled as soon as possible.

Quick facts about gambling in California

  • All types of gambling officially have a minimum age requirement of 18. However, for casinos to be able to serve alcohol many of them have set their own age requirement to 21.
  • Roulette and craps are banned in the state. California has a law prohibiting games where a ball or dice is solely determining the outcome. It doesn’t make much sense – we know.
  • Annual revenue from all types of gambling is around $7 billion dollars. Approximately $1.4 billion of this is being generated as tax profits.
  • California has close to 150 different casinos and poker rooms with many of these being quite large scale venues.
  • Legalizing online poker has been up for discussion almost every year since 2010, but as of now it is still not legal in the state. 

The story of online casino gambling is the same as with playing poker and betting on sports over the internet – it’s not legal but it’s extremely unlikely that you’ll get in trouble for indulging in it. Like many American states the laws of California aren’t directly addressing internet gambling. While there are some old ones that possibly could be used to claim its illegality, it is a bit of a long shot.

At the end of the day it’s pretty much irrelevant if playing casino online in California is illegal or not. Hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of state residents regularly gamble over the internet and as far as we know no one has ever been faced with any legal charges for doing so. The golden state’s long arm of the law simply doesn’t care about single individuals gambling online.   

Should you, however, against all odds be penalized for enjoying casino, sports betting or playing poker online there’s not much to fear. The first two offences would only result in a $50 fine.

A brief look at the history of gambling in California

1933: Betting on horse racing is legalized.  

1984: A state lottery is introduced.

1988: As the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act passes on a federal level gambling compacts are signed with more than 50 tribes in California. At the time being these are only allowed to offer bingo-style casino games.

2000: With the exception of roulette, craps and some historic games all types of casino games are legalized on tribal land. All gambling compacts with the Native American tribes are re-negotiated to decide the amount and types of games they are allowed to offer in their casinos.

2010: This year made it legal for residents to bet on horse racing online. Senator Roderick Wright also introduced a bill to legalize online poker.

2012 – 2019: Several online poker bills are introduced by several different people, but none of them make it very far.

Advantages of playing casino online

As much as the golden state is offering hundreds of poker rooms and casinos that are easily accessible for most residents, there are many perks to be had playing online at any of the best California casinos that we have recommended on top of the page. We have listed most of these advantages below.

The RTP of slot machines is generally higher

If you don’t know what RTP is this is a percentage based value that all casino games have which shows you how much you’re expected to win in the long run. If a game has an RTP of 95% this means that you would win $95 for every $100 staked. This is on average of course. In the short run you could win anything from $0 to several thousands of dollars. The gist of it all is that the higher the RTP a game has the more likely you will be winning from it.

When you’re gambling online more or less all slot machines will have an RTP of 95 – 97%. This is not the case when playing at a land based casino in California. Here the payback percentage can vary widely and in best case scenario the average RTP won’t be higher than 94%. It’s not unusual though to stumble upon slot machines that have a payback percentage as low as 85% or even lower.

Gambling online is incredibly convenient

This is self-explanatory. When you’re gambling online you can do it from anywhere at any time as long as you have a mobile device and an internet connection. There’s no dress code to follow and no distance to travel. A click of a button and you’re all set.

Slot machines tend to be more advanced

There are hundreds of different companies that manufacture slot machines, but only a small portion of these create land based slots. If you ask us all of the best and most creative providers are solely making slot machines for online casinos. This means that gambling over the internet comes with a wider variety of games and much more interesting ones.  

It’s easier to get a lot of promotional offers

Playing casino games there are basically two ways that you are able to increase your long term chances of making a profit; choosing to play games with as high of an RTP as possible and taking part of as many bonus offers as you can. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about a lottery draw, cashback or promotional offer giving you extra money on a deposit. All bonuses are beneficial in the long run.

The beauty of gambling over the internet is that you are able to switch between casinos in a blink of an eye. This almost gives you an unlimited amount of bonus offers as if you run out of bonuses at one gambling site you can just visit another.

It’s the only way of betting on sports

While land based gambling venues in the state aren’t allowed to offer sports betting many of the best online casinos in California have a wide selection of odds. We’re talking about betting on more than 20 different sports and eSports as well as horse racing and political events.

It’s the only way of playing roulette and craps

Since roulette and craps are illegal in the golden state no gambling establishments are offering these games. You can, however, find them at all Californian online casinos as these are located outside of America and not within the state.

You can deposit and withdraw with Bitcoins

As much as cryptocurrencies are becoming more and more popular they are yet to make it to the land based casinos in California. If you’re into them you can, however, use them at several online gambling sites. Especially Bitcoins is commonly offered as a deposit and withdrawal method, but you’re also able to come across Ethereum, Litecoin and Ripple.

Downsides of playing casino online

While gambling over the internet has many advantages over land based gambling establishments all things that are good do also have their downsides. As our ambition is to provide you with a comprehensive guide to online casinos in California we have listed these drawbacks for you. There are a total of three that we can think of.

The experience is not as authentic and social

With the introduction and expansion of live dealer games gambling over the internet has become more and more real. These games allow you to play roulette, blackjack and other games against real, professional dealers through a live video stream. But even though this is possible it’s not comparable to the authenticity that you experience when physically visiting a land based gambling establishment.

There’s something special and charming about the atmosphere that land based casino venues embrace you with. The flashing lights; sounds of big wins and all the people that you share the experience with. Not to mention standing face to face with a dealer and chitchatting with him or her as you place your bets on whatever table game you’re enjoying. 

You won’t receive your winnings instantaneously

When you’re playing at a land based casino in California it doesn’t take many minutes to get all of your winnings in your pocket. At online casinos it’s a different story. There’s not only a transaction time which varies from a few hours to several days depending on the cash out method that you use. The casino will normally have to approve your withdrawal as well, which can take up to 48 hours.

Fees on deposit and withdrawals may occur

While it varies from one gambling site to another it’s quite common to experience fees when playing at Californian online casinos. The exception is if you use Bitcoins as this rarely comes with any. Should you, however, deposit with a debit card or by making a wire transfer it’s very likely that you’ll have to pay a few percentages of your deposited amount in fees. You may have to when cashing out as well even though this isn’t as common of an occurrence.

Land based poker rooms and casinos in California

As one of the most gambling friendly states in America there’s a huge amount of venues offering great gambling opportunities in California. You won’t find sports betting of course as this is yet to be legalized. You will, however, find anything from enormous card rooms to massive slot parlors and full-fledged Las-Vegas style casinos offering slots, table games, poker and bingo.

All in all you have more than a hundred different venues to choose from in the golden state. With the ambition of guiding you to a suiting gambling establishment we have listed most of them below with details about their location and the games that they’re offering.

CasinoCityAddressSlotsTable gamesPoker tables
San Manuel CasinoHighland777 San Manuel Blvd4800130-
Pechanga Resort CasinoTemecula45000 Pechanga Pkwy400015454
Graton Resort & CasinoRohnert Park288 Golf Course Dr W330013120
Thunder Valley Station CasinoLincoln1200 Athens Ave310011427
Sycuan Casino ResortEl Cajon5469 Casino Way28005017
Morongo Casino Resort & SpaCabazon49500 Seminole Dr27007413
Cache Creek Casino ResortBrooks14455 CA-16236010814
Pala Casino Spa ResortPala11154 CA-762250848
Red Hawk CasinoPlacerville1 Red Hawk Parkway2190757
Soboba CasinoSan Jacinto22777 Soboba Rd202520-
Viejas Casino & ResortAlpine5000 Willows Rd200035-
Table Mountain CasinoFriant8184 Table Mountain Rd20004010
Chumash Casino ResortSanta Ynez3400 CA-24620004014
Barona Resort and CasinoLakeside1932 Wildcat Canyon Rd20007515
Fantasy Springs Resort CasinoIndio84-245 Indio Springs Dr200040-
Tachi Palace Hotel & CasinoLemoore17225 Jersey Ave2000247
Valley View Casino & HotelValley Center16300 Nyemii Pass Road200022-
Soboba Casino ResortSan Jacinto22777 Soboba Rd200038-
Harrah’s Resort Southern CaliforniaValley Center777 S Resort Dr17505912
Chukchansi Gold Resort and CasinoCoarsegold711 Lucky Ln170036-
Jackson Rancheria Casino ResortJackson12222 New York Ranch Rd17003615
Spotlight 29 CasinoCoachella46-200 Harrison Pl160039-
Jamul CasinoJamul14145 Campo Rd16004310
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire MountainWheatland3317 Forty Mile Rd158757-
Agua Caliente Casino ResortRancho Mirage32-250 Bob Hope Dr14003920
San Pablo Lytton CasinoSan Pablo13255 San Pablo Ave130192
Black Oak CasinoTuolumne19400 Tuolumne Rd N1300246
Colusa Casino ResortColusa3770 CA-451273103
Eagle Mountain CasinoPorterville681 S Reservation Rd1200103
River Rock CasinoGeyserville3250 CA-128115020-
Spa Resort CasinoPalm Springs401 E Amado Rd100029-
Win-River Resort and CasinoRedding2100 Redding Rancheria Rd1000128
Casino PaumaPauma Valley777 Pauma Reservation Rd100019-
Quechan Casino and ResortWinterhaven525 Algodones Rd10002610
Feather Falls Casino and LodgeOroville3 Alverda Dr100012-
Harrah’s Northern CaliforniaIone4640 Coal Mine Rd95020-
Gold Country Casino and HotelOrovilleOlive Hwy90027-
Augustine CasinoCoachella84-001 Avenue 5480410-
Blue Lake Casino & HotelBlue Lake777 Casino Way800155
Rolling Hills CasinoCorning2655 Everett Freeman Way80012-
Golden Acorn Casino & Travel CenterCampo1800 Golden Acorn Way75020-
Hopland Sho-Ka-Wah CasinoHopland13101 Nokomis Rd5708-
Twin Pine Casino and HotelMiddletown 22223 CA-29500--
Tortoise Rock CasinoTwentynine Palms73829 Baseline Road49052
Mono Wind CasinoAuberry37302 Rancheria Ln349--
Rain Rock CasinoYreka777 Casino Way3498-
Chicken Ranch CasinoJamestown16929 Chicken Ranch Rd349--
Paiute Palace CasinoBishop2742 N Sierra Hwy34042
Bear River Casino ResortLoleta11 Bear Paws Way33116-
Lucky 7 Casino & HotelSmith River350 North Indian Road33034
Konocti Vista CasinoLakeport2755 Mission Rancheria Rd3256-
Elk Valley CasinoCrescent City2500 Howland Hill Rd32036
Havasu Landing Resort & CasinoHavasu Lake13145 Havasu Lake Road3106-
Cahuilla CasinoAnza52702 CA-3713005-
Cher-Ae-Heights CasinoTrinidad27 Scenic Dr300--
Robinson Rancheria Resort, Casino & BingoNice1545 State Hwy 2030012-
Running Creek CasinoUpper Lake635 State Hwy 203005-
Coyote Valley CasinoRedwood Valley77 BIA Rd 22825010-
Sherwood Valley CasinoWillits100 Kawi Pl222--
The Garcia River CasinoPoint Arena22215 Windy Hollow Rd200--
Desert Rose CasinoAlturas901 Co Rd 56150--
Pit River CasinoBurney20265 Tamarack Ave1503-
Lucky Bear CasinoHoopa12510 CA-961102-
Hidden Oaks CasinoCovelo77285 Commercial St93--
Red Fox CasinoLaytonville200 Cahto Dr75--
La Jolla Trading Post & CasinoPauma Valley22003 CA-7675--
Coyote Valley One Stop ShopRedwood Valley60 Coyote Valley Boulevard50--
Morongo Travel CenterCabazon49020 Seminole Dr47--
Bear River Pump & PlayLoleta10 Bear Paws Way38--
Yokut Gas StationLemoore17051 Jersey Ave24--
Napa Valley CasinoAmerican Canyon3466 Broadway-47
Golden West CasinoBakersfield1001 S Union Ave-2025
Bicycle CasinoBell Gardens888 Bicycle Casino Dr-45130
Casino 99 ChicoChico175 E 20th St--5
Commerce CasinoCommerce6131 Telegraph Rd-83160
Crystal Casino & HotelCompton123 E Artesia Blvd-372
Garlic City CasinoGilroy8630 San Ysidro Ave #100-175
Parkwest Casino LotusSacramento6010 Stockton Blvd-105
Artichoke Joe's CasinoSan Bruno659 Huntington Ave-2117
Bay 101 CasinoSan Jose1788 N 1st St-1930
Casino M8trixSan Jose1887 Matrix Blvd-3314
Stone's Gambling HallCitrus Heights6510 Antelope Rd-1517
Seven Mile CasinoChula Vista285 Bay Blvd-209
The Gardens CasinoHawaiian Gardens11871 E Carson St-115110
Larry Flynts Lucky Lady CasinoGardena1045 Rosecrans Ave-5324
Hollywood Park CasinoInglewood3883 W Century Blvd-125-
Aviator CasinoDelano1225 Airport Dr-127
Limelight CardroomSacramento1014 Alhambra Blvd-73
California Grand CasinoPacheco5988 Pacheco Blvd-1914
Capitol CasinoSacramento411 N 16th St-711
Casino RealManteca1355 N Main St-76
Players CasinoVentura6580 Auto Center Dr-2214
Lake Elsinore CasinoLake Elsinore20930 Malaga Rd-616
Diamond Jim's CasinoRosamond118 20th St W-513
Shamrock Card RoomTracy125 W 11th St--2
Parkwest Casino SonomaPetaluma5151 Montero Way-99
Oaks Card ClubEmeryville4097 San Pablo Ave-1525
Livermore Casino Card RoomLivermore3571 First St-55
Lucky Lady Casino and Card RoomSan Diego5526 El Cajon Blvd-48
Ocean's Eleven CasinoOceanside121 Brooks St-1238
FLB Entertainment CenterFolsom511 E Bidwell St-24
Parkwest Casino 580Livermore968 N Canyons Pkwy-10-
Rogelio's Dine & Sleep Inn CasinoIsleton34 Main St-14
Bankers CasinoSalinas111 Monterey St-115
Casino Monterey - The Marina ClubMarina204 Carmel Ave-43
Paso Robles CasinoPaso Robles1144 Black Oak Dr--5
Club One CasinoFresno1033 Van Ness Ave-51-
Nineteenth Hole CasinoAntioch2746 W Tregallas Rd-25
Marysville CasinoMarysville515 4th St--3
Parkwest Casino LodiLodi1800 S Cherokee Ln-216
Stars CasinoTracy775 W Clover Rd-8-
500 Club CasinoClovis771 W Shaw Ave-1018
Delta CasinoStockton6518 Pacific Ave--4
Empire Sportsmen's AssociationModesto5001 McHenry Ave-53
Merced Poker RoomMerced1459 Martin Luther King Jr Way #5-2-
The Deuce Lounge and CasinoVisalia30435 Rd 68--4
Turlock Poker RoomTurlock2321 W Main St C--7
Towers Casino and Card RoomGrass Valley115 Bank St-35
Stones Gambling HallCitrus Heights6510 Antelope Rd-2117
Larry Flynt's Hustler CasinoGardena1000 W Redondo Beach Blvd-3050

FAQ about gambling and casinos in California

Is it safe to gamble over the internet?

As long as you pick a trusted gambling site like any of the best California casinos that we have listed on top of the page it’s totally safe. Like all businesses it is of course possible to find gambling sites that aren’t running their operations in a perfectly honest way, but they are few. The vast majority of online casinos want nothing more than their players to be happy as that will keep them coming back, which of course will generate a profit for the casinos.

If you’re concerned about playing at any of the gambling sites that we have recommended – don’t be. These are operators with a great reputation that have been around for a long time. We wouldn’t suggest them if we weren’t sure that their websites are well protected and the management honest.

How much do I have to pay in taxes on my winnings?

With the exception of winnings made from the state lottery, the standard income tax rates will apply to all of your gambling profits in California. As of 2020 these rates vary between 6.5% and 10.5% depending on the county that you live in. It’s only the net profits that are taxed so if you won a total of $25,000 in a year and lost $10,000 you would only have to pay taxes on the $15,000 profits. In addition to this, a federal tax of 25% will also apply to your profits if these exceed $5,000.
To get a better understanding, check out the two examples below:  

WinningsLossesNet profitState taxFederal taxTotal taxTo pay
Example 1. Casino winnings with a net profit lower than $5,000
$15,000$12,000$3,000around 8.5%0%8.5%$255
Example 2. Casino winnings with a net profit higher than $5,000
$20,000$12,000$8,000around 8.5%25%33.5%$2,680

When it comes to the state lottery any winnings that exceed $600 will be automatically taxed at 24%. In other words, if you would win $1,000 from a lottery draw $240 would be withheld and only $760 paid out to you.

What’s charitable gambling like in California?

There are three types of gambling activities that fund-raiser organizations are allowed to offer in the state; bingo, raffles and poker tournaments. They are quite limited though. For starters poker nights are only allowed to be hosted once a year. In addition to this, prize pools in bingo games are limited to $500 which is quite low.

Are tribal casinos offering horse betting?

As far as we know none are. You do, however, have a lot of different options to bet on horses in California. You can either visit one of the state’s four racetracks or one of a handful off-track betting facilities. In addition to this, betting on horses is the only type of gambling activity that is legalized to be partaken in online. There are several gambling sites that you can do this at.

Can I play at any online casino from California?

No, far from. There are thousands of gambling sites operating online with several new ones launching every month. Only a small portion of these allow residents of the golden state to sign up and play with them. 

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