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Testing lady luck dates back centuries and has since become some people’s favorite pastime. If you find yourself in that sentence, you’ll be happy to see our article, where we take a look at the Best California Online Casinos.
No longer will you need to search for lists of real money online casinos in California. Instead, this is your one-time stop for everything you’ll ever need to know when picking out the best online casino in California.
Online Casinos (Real Money)
Online casinos are normally attached to many of the top-tier online sportsbook providers, with Californians having access to a broad range of excellent offshore casinos. In terms of online casinos in the Golden State, it’s difficult to know exactly what the best site is for each player.
However, we have a list of the very best providers available to bettors in the state of California, which we’ll discuss below. These casinos provide excellent mega-bonuses, high-quality graphics, first-rate games, and mobile gaming accessibility. The list of casinos looks like this:
- Bovada – Bovada has been in the game for a very long time and remains one of the very best casinos around. Many will know Bovada for its extensive sportsbook, but the casino that is attached to it is certainly one of the best.
- BetOnline – BetOnline is one of the younger online casino providers when compared with the other top players, founded in 2004 and has built an excellent reputation within the community. It offers a broad range of games, poker rooms, and some excellent unique slots.
- BetUS – BetUS has been around for over 2 decades now, first founded in 1994. The company has grown over the years and has one of the very best mobile betting apps around, which is excellent for the casino lovers out there as BetUS has some truly excellent slots and casino games.
- MyBookie – MyBookie is an excellent provider offering customers a broad range of secure deposit and withdrawal methods, as well as an excellent customers support system to back up its services. Casino lovers will adore the incredible bonuses for new players, as well as existing ones, as they explore the wealth of games and slots in the MyBookie casino.
- GTBets – The GTBets casino is supported by an excellent mobile betting app, which makes the experience so much easier, as the site leaves a lot to be desired. There are some excellent games and slots available at GTBets, which are backed by a seemingly endless list of bonuses and promotions.
Online Gambling in California
Online Gambling in California is somewhere in a grey area. While it is technically illegal, most forms of online gambling are accepted, including casino games, sports betting, and poker.
This is in contrast with its land-based gambling scene, where betting and gambling with real money can be done at over 60 Native American casinos.
Boasting a unique and extensive gambling scene, the desire to allow for online gambling is huge; however, legislatures need to first amend the constitution for California to achieve that. There is a good chance that could happen, as the history of gambling in California suggests.
Unfortunately, there are way too many moving parts in California for the process to run smoothly. Some of the online casinos available right now are as follows:
- Chumba Casino
- Luckyland Slots
- FunzPoints Casino
California’s gambling laws are fairly liberal but complicated. While online gambling is illegal, anyone can gamble due to legal and regulated live and simulcast racing wagering, charitable gambling, card rooms, and lottery.
Oddly enough, California stands out as a state that licenses and regulates card rooms but does not allow for those places to have gambling machines. However, that shouldn’t concern anyone, thanks to tribal casinos, which are permitted to have slot machines.
Here is our full list of the best California land-based Casinos everyone should visit during their stay in the Sunshine State.
Chumba Casino
Chumba Casino is a sweepstake social online casino that accepts all US residents. It boasts one of the most diverse collections of online slot games and table games, but unfortunately no live dealers at the time.
Chumba Casino currently offers over 70 different online casino game titles. While that is by no means an enormous amount compared to other online casinos, Chumba Casino continues to expand its offer for both slot games and table games.
Chumba Casino might not be for everyone, but it draws attention with its large progressive jackpots, free withdrawals, numerous deposit methods, and legal cash prizes.
If you’re into blackjack and are a newbie at the game, Chumba Casino is definitely the place to start your blackjack journey. The website features one of the most newbie-friendly table games in the scene, as it comes with a “show odds” feature, where you can check the odds of winning your hand, helping you decide whether to hit or stand.
What makes Chumba Casino stand out from other online casinos is its availability on mobile devices, offering one of the best online casino experiences in the business. The mobile version of Chumba Casino works effortlessly and smoothly – the best part is that you don’t even need to download an app.
All you need to do to gamble on Chumba Casino is visit the official website on your mobile device, and you’re set to go.
There are many things to like about Chumba Casino, and only one way to find out whether Chumba Casino is the right online casino for you. Visit Chumba Casino and test it out for yourself!
Luckyland Slots
Luckyland Slots is a promotional online sweepstakes casino that uses a dual-currency model with Gold Coins and real money. The sweepstakes model has become widely popular across the US, and you don’t need to look far to figure out why.
By buying Luckyland Slots’ Gold Coins, the online casino will award you the same value in Sweeps Coins, which you can use to play one of many Luckyland Slots online games.
Not the biggest or most popular online casino in California; however, no other online casino provider has as many unique slot games as Luckyland Slots. If you’re looking for a unique experience, Luckyland Slots is the place to be.
If you prefer playing on the go, Luckyland Slots has got you covered with a Luckyland Slots application, available for Android and iOS devices. If downloading an application to your phone isn’t your thing, Luckyland Slots has optimized its website to run smoothly on any mobile device without needing to download a dedicated application.
Regardless of which version of the mobile site you choose, the experience will be smooth and enjoyable. With up-to-date graphics, an easy-to-navigate menu, and plenty of games to choose from, Luckyland Slots is one of the best online casinos in California.
FunzPoints Casino
FunzPoints Casino is one of the best-rated sweepstakes casinos available in California. It offers a large variety of slot games, lucrative bonus rewards, as well as promotions for its customers.
FunzPoints Casino has gained recognition across the US for its daily jackpot draws. Those are an added reward to the welcome bonus every new customer gets by signing up to FunzPoints Casino.
One negative of FunzPoints Casino is that it does not have roulette or blackjack games; however, it more than makes up for it with its large variety of slot games and daily rewards.
Unlike some other sweepstakes casinos, FunzPoints Casino does not have a dedicated mobile application for Android or iOS. However, the website uses HTML5 coding, which optimizes it for mobile use.
History of Gambling in California
The history of gambling in California dates back 150 years, more precisely to 1972, when the first big move for gambling in the state occurred. The state split gambling games into either controlled or banked and banned the latter.
This meant that casino-run games were no longer allowed; however, player-organized poker games were perfectly fine under the state’s law. The only significant move from this rule was the introduction of pai gow poker and blackjack that made its debut in the 1980s.
In 1993 California legalized pari-mutuel wagering on horse races. Shortly after, the Los Angeles track hosted the first Santa Anita Handicap with a $100,000 prize pool, which would equate to over $2,000,000 today. The legislation was closely related to the Great Depression as the government’s attempt to collect much-needed tax money.
Fast forward to 1988, California introduced the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which makes it legal for all federally recognized Native American tribes to offer casino gambling on their tribal lands.
It took an additional ten years before California accepted the Tribal-State Gaming Compacts Initiative, which permitted the introduction of slot machines and banked casino games on tribal lands. The proposition was overturned shortly after that due to a legal technicality but was fixed and re-introduced in 2000.
The most recent change in the California Online Gambling law came in 2018 when the US Supreme Court overturned the federal ban on sports betting.
While online gambling in California is illegal, you can still play at one of many online casinos. A quick Google search for “Online Casinos California” would get you plenty of listings where you can engage in online games such as slots, video poker, blackjack, and roulette.
If playing in person is more to your liking, California has got you covered with more land-based casinos than you’ll ever need. In fact, California has more land-based casinos than almost all states in the US.
Best California Casinos
There are no legal online casinos in California. While that means that you’re, for the most part, not able to gamble for real money, there are a few exceptions, including online pari-mutuel horse betting, daily fantasy sports, and the widely popular sweepstakes casinos that work around that rule.
Sweepstakes casinos allow California residents to engage in online casino gambling, even though online casinos for real money are not legal. However, there is not much difference between the sweepstake casinos and real money casinos.
Instead of loading up your account with money and gamble with it, the sweepstakes sites allow you to purchase the website’s currency and bet with that. That currency can later be exchanged back to real money, effectively allowing you to gamble the same way you would have with real money.
While there are limited options for online gambling, there are a few online casinos available in California that you should visit. Here’s a shortlist of the casinos we recommend before going into more detail:
- Pechanga Resort Casino
- San Manuel Casino
- Morongo Casino Report & Spa
Pechanga Resort Casino
Location: 45000 Pechanga Pkwy, Temecula, CA 92592, United States
Owner: Pechanga Resort and Casino
Located in Pachanga in Temecula, Pechanga Resort Casino is a casino that can only be described with one word – colossus. It features 188,000 feet of space to you to gamble on with over 5,000 slot machines, 158 table games, a 700-seat bingo venue, and a 38-table poker room.
After a long day of gambling and trying out your luck, you will likely feel hungry or will want to take some rest – Pechanga Resort Casino has got you covered. With 14 restaurants and bars, as well as a 1,100-room hotel that is waiting to accommodate you.
Pechanga Resort Casino is an all-inclusive casino as they come. It has the largest casino floor in California and everything you would ever want for an enjoyable prolonged stay while you test your luck gambling with real money in the state of California.
San Manuel Casino
Location: 777 San Manuel Blvd, Highland, CA 92346, United States
Owner: San Manuel Band of Mission Indians
Just 70 minutes out of Los Angeles and an hour north of Pechanga Resort Casino, you’ll be able to find the San Manuel Casino. Although not nearly as massive as its southern neighbor, the San Manuel Casino features over 5,000 slots and over 130 table games.
As you would expect, the San Manuel Casino doesn’t lack restaurants either. With seven restaurants and eight bars to choose from, you can be sure you won’t be feeling hungry or thirsty during your stay in one of California’s best casinos.
Morongo Casino Resort & Spa
Where: 49500 Seminole Drive; Cabazon, CA 92230, United States
Owner: Morongo Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians
Even if you’re not as good as your desired location, you won’t have a hard time locating Morongo Casino Resort & Spa. Located 88 miles east of Los Angeles, the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa makes our list of the best California casinos due to its ease of and a large variety of slots and poker rooms.
Morongo Casino Resort & Spa features over 4,000 slots, 60 table games, and a poker room spread across 150,000 square feet of gaming space. The casino further plans to expand its gaming space by an additional 65,000 square feet, making it one of the largest in the state of California.
As its name would suggest, Morongo Casino Resort & Spa also has a beautiful spa for you to relax and enjoy, as well as eight restaurants and a 310-room hotel. It doesn’t get much better than that.
