Is DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, or MyBookie Legal in California?

by Bob Duff

Updated: May 21, 2026

California does not currently have legal, state-regulated online sports betting. That means sportsbook brands like DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, BetMGM, ESPN Bet/TheScore Bet, Caesars Sportsbook, and Bet365 are not licensed to accept real-money sports wagers in the state.

However, California residents still search for and access many betting brands online. Offshore sportsbooks such as Bovada, BetOnline, BetUS, and MyBookie remain accessible to players in California, even though they are not regulated by California authorities.

Here you’ll find out which sportsbook brands are available in California, which are state-regulated elsewhere in the United States, how offshore sportsbooks differ from licensed operators, and why California sports betting laws remain unresolved.

For more information about California betting laws, visit our California sports betting legality page.

How to read brand “legality” in California

Brand legality in California depends on the difference between access and state approval. A sportsbook may be accessible online from California, but that does not mean it is licensed, regulated, or approved by California authorities.

While the major players in the U.S. sports betting market, like DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM are not accessible in California, there are several offshore sports betting sites that are accessible to California players. Offshore sportsbooks operate under non-U.S. licensing frameworks and are not overseen by California regulators. They are all providing the opportunity to place wagers on sports betting in California. Sites like Bovada, BetUS, and MyBookie are widely used by California bettors, although they are not regulated by California gaming authorities. And they offer the same betting lines and betting markets that you could access if legal and regulated sports betting were available in California.

Daily fantasy sports remain legally contested in California. In July 2025, the California Department of Justice issued an opinion stating that paid DFS contests involving players physically located in California are prohibited under existing state law. Some major DFS operators may still be accessible, but DFS should not be described as clearly legal or state-regulated in California.

Offshore sportsbooks commonly available to California players

Offshore sportsbooks may offer broad betting menus, mobile access, bonuses, and payment options such as cryptocurrency. However, they are not licensed by California and are not overseen by California gaming regulators, so players should weigh access against the lack of state-level consumer protections.

A sportsbook like Bovada is popular around the world, carrying a sterling reputation. The company has been in operation since 2011, working with a license from Curacao. Among the offshore sports betting sites that cater to the California market, Bovada is the industry standard-bearer.

Bovada offers a massive menu of sports betting markets and a lucrative welcome bonus. The site also provides access to an online casino and a poker room.

Bonus:

50% up to $250

Sign up

Bovada is available to California players, but remember that, as an offshore account, its servers are not governed by any regulations put in place by the California Gambling Control Commission.

Another top sports betting site, BetOnline is known for its popular welcome bonus offer and the quick pace at which the site makes payouts.

Bonus:

50% up to $250

Sign up

BetOnline offers a clean, crisp platform and plenty of markets on all the sports you’ll want to bet. And the intuitive BetOnline mobile app is ideal for players who like to place their bets while on the go.

In business for over three decades, BetUS also offers players a free tout service. Expert analysis on upcoming sporting events is provided through BetUS TV.

Bonus:

225% up to $3,625

Sign up

BetUS provides plenty of betting markets, going deep in its array of prop bets and parlay options. It’s a site that’s earned the trust of California sports bettors, and rightfully so.

MyBookie is a sportsbook that stands out for large guaranteed contests, survivor pools, and season-long betting competitions that go beyond standard wagers.

Bonus:

100% up to $1,000

Sign up

At MyBookie, they offer pick’em pools that run the length of a season. There’s also NFL survivor contests and bracket-style tournaments.

You can compare these offshore sportsbooks in our full sportsbook reviews section, including dedicated reviews for Bovada, BetOnline, BetUS, and MyBookie.

Regulated U.S. sportsbook brands not licensed in California

The chances of legal and regulated sports betting coming to California sooner rather than later are at the moment a remote possibility. It’s too late for any similar sort of referendum to be included in the 2026 midterm elections. That has proponents of the legalization of sports betting in California aiming their sights on the 2028 election cycle.

With evidence that the relationship is softening between online sports betting sites and the tribes that control gambling in the state, there is a bit of optimism that the following legal and regulated sports betting sites might eventually be offered to California bettors.

FanDuel is the No. 1 sports betting site in the legal and regulated U.S. market. The site offers the sleekest mobile app in the industry and state-of-the-art parlay tools, including a same-game parlay builder.

Running neck-and-neck with FanDuel for the honor as the top U.S. sportsbook is DraftKings. At DraftKings, you’ll find a massive lineup of player prop bets. DraftKings gets its odds up quickly. There’s a deep bench of betting markets, and live betting provides both volume and fast pricing of new markets.

A broad base of same-game parlay markets and the industry’s benchmark rewards program make BetMGM a stellar choice for your betting needs. There are plenty of betting markets, a solid live betting platform, and even an early cash-out option.

At Fanatics Sportsbook, they offer their unique FanCash program in which players can exchange rewards points for Fanatics-licensed merchandise or bonus bets. The Fanatics platform is slick and easy to navigate, even on a mobile device.

Bet365 is known as an industry innovator. Live streaming and live betting both draw their origins in the betting world from this British-owned site. If you like alternate lines and significant early cash-out possibilities, this is the site to go to.

Recently rebranded as TheScore Bet, the former ESPN Bet delivers an innovative and holistic mobile sports betting experience. TheScore Bet app lets you build and track your bets, provides lightning-fast score updates, and deep betting coverage.

DFS, casino, and other non-sportsbook products by brand

California users may still be able to access DraftKings and FanDuel DFS products, but the California Attorney General concluded in 2025 that paid DFS games involving players physically located in the state are prohibited. But even that opportunity is tenuous at present. In July 2025, the California Attorney-General’s office declared DFS sites to be a form of sports betting and thus illegal in the state. However, the major DFS players have continued to provide products to current players and to sign up new players in the state. To date, there’s been no punishment from the state for doing so.

Likewise, the legal and regulated online casino market is prohibited from operating in California. However, there are legal casino options accessible to California players. Land-based tribal casinos are offered at 86 different locations throughout the state.

A major change to the California gaming landscape came at the end of 2025. The state government pushed through legislation making sweepstakes casinos illegal in California. Assembly Bill 831 was signed into law by California Governor Gavin Newsom. It banned all forms of sweepstakes casino gaming. With a sweepstakes casino, players play casino-style games and win sweepstakes coins. These coins can be exchanged for prizes, including sums of cash.

There is a state lottery in California, and pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing is legal and regulated in California. Some of the active racetracks in California include Santa Anita, Del Mar, Los Alamitos, and Cal-Expo. Golden Gate Fields closed in June 2024. Beyond on-track wagering, California offers off-track betting and several fair tracks across the state.

Horse racing is also one of the rare entities that can be wagered on online. Advance deposit wagering is available from ADW sites such as AmWager, FanDuel Racing, and TVG.

The newest form of wagering to come to California is prediction markets. Federally regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, sites like Polymarket and Kalshi offer the chance to choose sides in event contracts on outcomes in the real world, including sports events.

Why availability differs by brand in California

The main reason that sports betting sites like DraftKings and FanDuel aren’t legal in California is ultimately coming down to a long-held battle between the two factions that control the gambling industry in California. Both of these groups are staunch in their opposition to the other side getting a bite out of the sports betting apple.

On the one side are the state’s tribes, who control casino gambling in California. Tribal casinos operate across California and remain central to the state’s gambling policy debate. It’s part of a gaming compact negotiated between the tribes and the federal government. The state government gets a cut of the gambling funds as part of the agreement.

The tribes are holding firm in their belief that the gambling compact between the state and the tribes require that to be doing any further extension of legal gambling, it must be in conjunction with their facilities.

California’s independently-owned cardrooms are holding the opposing viewpoint in this debate. These cardrooms are situated throughout the state. With locations in major population centers, they believe that their sites offer the ideal partnership opportunity for online sports betting sites.

The major U.S. online sportsbooks originally were on the side of the cardrooms in this debate. However, in recent years, the sportsbooks have extended an olive branch to the state’s tribes to see if the two groups can align on common ground when it comes to the legalization of sports betting in California.

Where to go next based on the brand you searched

If you searched for a specific sportsbook brand in California, here are the best next steps depending on what you want to do:

• Looking for legal California betting updates? Visit our California sports betting legality guide.
• Comparing offshore sportsbooks? Read our full sportsbook reviews section.
• Looking for betting promos and bonuses? Visit our California sportsbook promos page.
• Trying to learn how sports betting works? Start with our California betting guide.

Interested in California DFS or alternative betting products? Read our guides to daily fantasy sports and California online gambling alternatives.

Use those pages to choose the right next step based on the product you searched for. If you searched for DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, ESPN Bet, Caesars, Bet365, Fanatics, or TheScore Bet, the key takeaway is that none of those sportsbook products is currently licensed for real-money betting in California.