Online casinos in California: the law and what the casinos' terms say
California licenses cardrooms and oversees tribal casinos under compacts, and neither regulator lists an online casino. Since 1 January 2026 the state also bans online sweepstakes casinos. Here is what the official sources say, and what the offshore casinos we review say about California players.
Who regulates what
Two bodies split the job. The California Gambling Control Commission issues the licenses, and the Bureau of Gambling Control, part of the state Department of Justice, investigates applicants and inspects the games. Between them they cover cardrooms, charitable gambling and the tribal casinos, which run under compacts between the tribes and the Governor. All of it is in person. Neither site lists a licensed online casino, and I found no law on either that creates one.
The Bureau's view of the offshore sites isn't hidden. Its advisory number 9, from 2011, bars licensed cardrooms from doing business with "illegal Internet gambling websites that openly accept wagers from U.S. citizens in violation of federal law". That's the regulator's description, not mine, and it's the one a California cardroom has to live with.
Sweepstakes casinos
A sweepstakes casino sells you coins to play slots with and lets you redeem some of them for cash, and it claims that makes it a promotion, not a casino. California closed that door with AB 831, Chapter 623 of the Statutes of 2025. The commission's list of 2025 gambling laws says it "updates existing laws regarding the use of gambling simulators and online sweepstakes" and prohibits using any method, digital platforms included, to simulate gambling. Licensed gambling enterprises and the California State Lottery are left alone, and so are ordinary promotions that come with buying a product. The page says the year's new laws took effect on 1 January 2026 unless they say otherwise.
I tried to read the bill and the Penal Code on the legislature's own site, and it refused me access, so I've given you only what the commission states.
The 2022 votes
California has asked its voters about sports betting, though not about online casinos. On 8 November 2022, according to the Secretary of State's declaration of the vote, Proposition 27, online and mobile sports wagering outside tribal lands, lost with 17.7 percent yes. Proposition 26, roulette, dice games and in-person sports wagering on tribal lands, lost with 33.0 percent. Neither touched online slots or table games. The California sports betting page covers the sports side.
What the casinos we review say about California
None of the casinos we review names California in the terms we read, for or against. Here's what each review records about US players, and nothing more.
| Casino | What its terms say about US players |
|---|---|
| Bovada Casino | Bars 19 states and DC; California is not one of them |
| BetNow Casino | Takes US players except New Jersey |
| MyBookie Casino | Its About page says it takes US and international players |
| Everygame Casino | May refuse new US accounts at its discretion |
| Xbet Casino | Leaves it to the player to decide whether he may play where he lives |
| YouWager Casino | Lists restricted countries; Nevada is named for some bonuses |
| Bookie.ag Casino | No restricted list on the terms page read |
| BookMaker Casino | Terms sit in a help centre that refused us access |
| JustBet Casino | Terms sit in a help centre that refused us access |
Where that leaves a Californian
An offshore casino isn't licensed by California, and neither the commission nor the Bureau can make one pay you. A casino not refusing your state in its terms hasn't made playing there legal where you live. I'd read who-may-play before the bonus, because that clause is the first one a casino reads when a player wins big. The online casinos list says how we review them, and the casino guide explains the games and the edge built into each.
The Bureau runs a self-exclusion program and points to 1-800-GAMBLER, or text SUPPORT to 53342, for free help at any hour. Our responsible gambling page covers the tools a casino should give you.
*Checked against the California Gambling Control Commission, the Bureau of Gambling Control and the Secretary of State on 28 October 2026. The casinos' terms are as our reviews read them in October 2026. Laws change; this page is re-checked every quarter. This is not legal advice.*