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Our top recommended online casinos in California

Please note: The list below reflects the sweepstakes and social casino options that are legal and available in the state.

Rank
Casinos
Offer
Features
Play
1
35 Free Sweepstakes Coins
With 1.5 Million WOW Coins Purchase
WOW Vegas Casino Review
  • Get 5 Free SC + 250,000 WOW Coins on Sign Up
  • Over 1000 Slots Games
  • Welcome Bonus and Daily Login Bonuses
  • Use Promo Code: WOWBONUS
2
5 Sweeps Coins
250 Game Coins & 600 Diamonds on Sign Up
High 5 Casino Review
  • US Players Accepted
  • 1200+ Slots & Live Dealer Games!
  • FREE Daily Rewards
  • Authentic Brand, Made in the USA
3
Up to 27.5 FREE SC
PLUS 57,500 GC
McLuck Review
  • US Players Accepted
  • Get 2.5 Free SC + 7,500 GC on Sign Up
  • Live Dealer Blackjack, Roulette, and MORE
  • Use Promo Code: PLAYBONUS
4
30 FREE Sweepstakes Coins
With 362,000 Gold Coin Purchase
Pulsz Review
  • Free 2.3 SC + 5,000 GC on Sign Up
  • Daily FREE Sweepstakes When Logging In
  • Choose From Over 700 Games
  • Use Promo Code: BONUSPLAY
5
100,000 Crown Coins
Plus 2 Sweeps Coins on Sign Up
Crown Coins Review
  • 800K CC + 40 SC on 1st Purchase for $15.99 (150% Bonus!)
  • FREE Daily Rewards & Weekly Challenges
  • Available iOS Mobile App
  • To Claim: Click Play Now
6
250,000 Gold Coins
PLUS $25 Stake Cash
Stake.us Review
  • Over 200 Slots + Live Dealer Casino-Style Games
  • 10,000 GC + $1 Stake Cash Daily Bonus
  • Partnerships with Drake, Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake, Everton FC, and more!
  • Use Bonus Code: USABET
7
5,000 SC Free
Plus 10,000,000 Coins
Carnival Citi Review
  • Generous Bonuses & Daily Freebies
  • Feat. Casino Floor Slot Games
  • Daily, Weekly & Monthly Lucky Draws
  • To Claim: Click Play Now
8
20 Free Sweep Coins
On First $20 Purchase
Chanced Casino Review
  • US Players Accepted
  • PLUS 2 SC + 20,000 Gold Coins on Sign Up
  • PLUS 20 FREE Spins on Account Verification
  • Live Blackjack, Roulette, and MORE
  • Instant Redemptions for US Players
9
Up to 575,000 Gold Coins
Plus 105 Free SC
RealPrize Review
  • PLUS Earn 1000 VIP Points
  • Daily 5,000 GC Login Bonus
  • Choose from 400+ Games
  • To Claim: Click Play Now
10
50,000 Gold Coins
Plus 25 Free SC on First $9.99 Purchase
Jackpota Review
  • Get 7,500 GC + 2.5 SC Free on Sign Up
  • Play a Huge Range of Casino Games
  • Get Free Coins Daily
  • To Claim: Click Play Now
11
Up to 27.5 FREE SC
PLUS 65,000 GC
Hello Millions Review
  • GC 15,000 PLUS SC 2.5 Free on Sign Up
  • Pragmatic Jackpot Play + Over 700 Slots Games
  • Free Daily Coins Reward
  • Use Exclusive Promo Code: BONUSPLAY
12
UP TO 3,400 FREE SC
PLUS 1.1M GC on First Purchase
NoLimitCoins Review
  • Get 100,000 Gold Coins + 100 Super Coins on Sign Up
  • Play in Free Daily Tournaments
  • Choose from 100+ Slots
  • Use Promo Code: USABONUS

The current casinos you can play at in your state are social and sweepstakes casinos. These provide a similar experience to real money online casinos, giving players the chance to win cash prizes. Learn more about sweepstakes casinos.

Are online casinos legal in California?

At this time real money online casinos are not available to play in the state. California’s Native American tribes have thwarted previous attempts to expand the state’s online gambling market. They rely on the income they receive from their tribal casinos, which support more than 184,000 jobs and deliver an annual economic impact of $34.56 billion, according to the American Gaming Association.

However, players 18 and older can enjoy slots, table games, and live dealer options at sweepstakes and social casinos. While players cannot deposit and wager cash, they can win cash prizes and gift cards.

How are sweepstakes casinos legal in California?

California sweepstakes law stipulates that sweepstakes must be free to enter, so you cannot buy Sweeps Coins. You can earn them for free via bonuses and promotions, and you may also be awarded free Sweeps Coins if you buy extra Gold Coins.

Tip icon
Tip:
Learn more about how Sweeps Coins work and how you can win cash prizes

Online casino options in California

Sweepstakes casinos in California are similar to online casinos. They allow you to play for free with Gold Coins or give you the chance to redeem cash prizes by playing with Sweeps Coins. They offer a similar experience to online casinos, with plenty of games to choose from, such as slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and more.

Pros and cons of Sweepstakes and social casinos

Playing on sweepstakes casino apps in California is the closest experience one can get to online casinos people can play in regulated states like New Jersey or Michigan.  Here are some pros and cons to what the experience is like for Californians.

  • You never have to play with your own money.
  • The sites' games are often indistinguishable from those on an online casino app.
  • You can redeem your coins for cash prizes without any purchase whatsoever.
  • The dual currency system can be confusing for new players.
  • Redeeming a cash prize can take longer than a withdrawal on an online casino app.
  • Banking options on a sweeps site are often limited and may present a challenge for purchasers.

What online casino games are available in California?

Social and sweepstakes casinos in California offer hundreds of games. Many are similar to the games found at online casinos in regulated states, but there are also some unique options.

Slots

You can play online slots at every social and sweepstakes casino in California. Some of them replicate the slot machines on offer at brick-and-mortar casinos run by tribes in the Golden State. You simply spin the reels and hope to match up symbols on one or more paylines.

There are also lots of innovative games, many of which are still uncommon at tribal casinos in the Golden State. The slots at social and sweepstakes casinos in California follow lots of different themes, and they can also have different features, volatility levels, and theoretical payout rates.

free slots icon

Blackjack

Blackjack is one of the most popular table games in California, as it offers a simple format, a low house edge, and fast-paced action. You can play blackjack in-person at tribal casinos and cardrooms, but it is often quicker and easier to play online at a social or sweepstakes casino.

The goal is simply to get closer to 21 than the dealer without going bust. However, you need to follow the optimal strategy in order to reduce the house edge as low as possible. These casinos offer online blackjack games:

  • Sweeptastic
  • SweepSlots
  • Pulsz
  • High 5 Casino
  • Chumba Casino
  • LuckyLand Slots
blackjack icon

Roulette

Online roulette is another hugely popular casino game in California. If you play in-person, tribal casinos must introduce cards into the mix, but you won’t find this wrinkle online.

Simply watch the ball spinning around the wheel and wait for it to nestle into a pocket.
You’ll find variants like European roulette (single zero) and American roulette (double zero) at social and sweepstakes casinos. These sites offer roulette games:

  • Chumba Casino
  • Sweeptastic
  • High 5 Casino

Sweeptastic stands out by offering a dozen roulette games, including French roulette, which has a higher RTP percentage than European or American roulette.

roulette icon

Video Poker

In video poker, you compete against the house rather than your fellow players. However, the format is similar to live poker, and you are rewarded for compiling the best hand possible.

Unlike live poker, you do not have to visit a cardroom and wait for a game or tournament to begin. You can dip in and out whenever you like, and there is no need to bluff or set traps, so it may appeal to anyone that struggles to maintain a poker face. A few leading free online casinos offer video poker, including:

  • Chumba Casino
  • LuckyLand Casino
  • Sweeptastic
  • High 5 Casino
Video poker icon

Poker-style table games

There are also various table games in which you play against the dealer or house.

Some are similar to the poker-style table games found at California cardrooms, such as:

Other table games Californians can play are

 

variety of Games icon

Live dealer

These games connect Californians with real dealers based in dedicated studios. You can play on your phone or computer, from anywhere in the Golden State, and you can interact with the dealer throughout.

Live dealer games include blackjack, baccarat, roulette, and poker-style games. These sites offer live dealer games for Californians:

  • High 5 Casino
  • McLuck
  • Stake.us
  • Chanced Casino
live dealer icon

Online casino payment options in California

You cannot make deposits and withdrawals at social casinos in California but you can buy coins to increase your play time. You can also redeem cash prizes via a bank transfer or Skrill. Most of these casinos pay California players in 5-7 days, whereas traditional instant withdrawal casinos pay in 24 hours or less.

Skrill is available for social and sweeps casinos in California. Players can use this method to purchase Gold Coin packages. You will not be able to use this banking option for redemptions.

Skrill Casinos

Credit cards are also accepted at social and sweeps casinos. Similar to Skrill, this method is only available for purchases and cannot be used for redemptions.

Credit Card Casinos
All Banking Options

Use this page for information on all banking options including how to deposit, withdrawal and which methods are best and cheapest.

Online Casino Payment Methods

Will California legalize real-money online casinos in the future?

California is likely to legalize online gambling in the future. Tribal leaders admit that there is an urgent need to move California gambling online, but they insist it needs to “benefit all tribes.”

The companies that run the country’s largest online casinos and sportsbooks have also acknowledged that the tribes are in the driving seat. “Tribal sovereignty around gaming is sacrosanct, and that goes for iGaming [online casinos] as well,” said FanDuel President Christian Genetski at a conference in February 2024. “It will be tribally led if it does, about what do tribes want on iGaming, what timetable would they want, what shape or form would they like that to take.”

All parties will be keen to avoid a repeat of the messy situation that unfolded in 2022, when rival groups spent approximately $460 million promoting their measures and attacking the rival initiatives.

If online casinos, poker rooms, and sportsbooks are to be legalized, the tribes will need to control the industry, while also finding a way to placate the commercial cardroom owners. They could then all unite behind one ballot measure seeking to introduce online gambling, which would stand a significantly better chance of gaining voter approval than Prop 27.

Indian Gaming Association conference chair Victor Rocha believes that in-person sports betting could begin in 2026, followed by online sports wagering in 2028. Johnny Hernandez Jr., vice chairman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, acknowledges that online sports betting will “eventually lead into iGaming,” but that may take several years to play out.

Legalization timeline

Here’s a brief list of relevant gambling legalization efforts that have occurred in California in recent years:

2024: Tribal leaders in California said they feel an “urgency” to roll out online gambling in the Golden State, but they said they will take the time to do it right.
2023: Two proposed ballot initiatives were filed with California’s attorney general, both seeking to provide Native American tribes the exclusive rights to control in-person and online sports betting in the state.
2022: Californians voted “no” to Prop 26 and Prop 27, rejecting the chance to introduce legal sports betting.
2021: Dozens of California tribes joined forces for a campaign to legalize in-person sports betting on tribal lands, and they gathered enough signatures to place a measure on the 2022 ballot. Online sportsbooks such as DraftKings and FanDuel spearheaded a separate campaign seeking to legalize online and in-person sports betting.

Tip icon
Tip:
Keep track of California's efforts to legalize online gambling with our casino bill tracker.

What is legal to gamble online in California?

Most forms of gambling are still illegal in California. The Golden State does not permit online casinos, poker rooms, or sportsbooks, and you cannot buy online lottery tickets either.

Fantasy sports apps accept players based in California, although state law does not explicitly permit them to do so. Online racebooks such as TwinSpiresTVG, and FanDuel Racing are also legally available in California. You can play at social and sweepstakes casino sites too, but traditional casino sites and apps are prohibited.

California online lottery

Keep up to date with the latest options for online lottery in California.

California online poker

Find out the status of California online poker and what current options are available.

Latest California gambling news

  • Oct. 2, 2024 – California Nations Indian Gaming Association Chairman James Siva says a workgroup will reconvene by the end of October to begin drafting a sports betting initiative for tribes to consider putting on the ballot in 2026 or 2028.
  • Sept. 4, 2024 – The California legislature passes a bill allowing tribes to file one consolidated lawsuit against cardrooms and third-party proposition player services over how they collaborate to offer games such as blackjack and baccarat.
  • Aug. 30, 2024 – The California Assembly has unanimously voted 62-0 to approve SB549, the Tribal Nations Access to Justice Act. Tribes want access to state courts to challenge the way California cardrooms operate games such as blackjack and baccarat.
  • Aug. 16, 2024 – The Appropriations Committee advances the Tribal Nations Access to Justice Act, which gives Indian tribes standing to sue cardrooms over the way they offer banked games such as blackjack.
  • Aug. 8, 2024 – A California resident has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against FanDuel over alleged violations of the state’s privacy laws.
  • July 3, 2024 – A California Assembly Committee that handles gaming issues advanced legislation providing tribes standing to get a California court to resolve their longstanding dispute with cardrooms.
  • July 2, 2024 – Starting next month, California gamblers can voluntarily self-exclude themselves from the state’s more than 60 cardrooms for free.
  • June 27, 2024 – Experts on a webcast say California tribes are in a good position to take advantage of the recent US Supreme Court decision on Florida sports betting.
  • June 24, 2024 – California Lottery officials have advised its retailers in the state to deny purchases from courier services like Jackpot.com, Jackpocket, or TheLotter. The advice is, more or less, reinforcement of California’s existing laws against online lottery play.
  • Feb. 26, 2024 – New federal rules about tribal compacts include a provision that the Bureau of Indian Affairs will approve compacts that include offsite gambling – potentially opening the door for tribes to offer statewide online gambling.
  • Feb. 23, 2024 – The Chicken Ranch Tribe of Me-Wuk Indians decides to move forward with an on-reservation sports betting product despite the fact that efforts to legalize sports betting in the state failed in 2022.
  • Feb. 21, 2024 – FanDuel sponsors the Western Indian Gaming Conference as a first step to rebuilding the relationship between the company and California tribal interests.
  • Feb. 16, 2024 – In a letter to the California attorney general, PrizePicks, a daily fantasy sports app, defended the legality of DFS as “games of skill.”
  • Feb. 7, 2024 – California’s largest association of Indian tribes submitted comments to the state attorney general questioning the legality of daily fantasy sports and calling pick’em games illegal sports wagering.
  • Jan. 23, 2024 – Proponents will not continue their efforts to put a California sports betting initiative on the ballot against opposition from California gaming tribes.
  • Jan. 12, 2024 – A California sports betting lawsuit against Fliff social sportsbook will be settled by arbitration, a district court judge ruled.
  • Jan. 11, 2024 – A bill that would give standing for California Indian tribes to sue cardrooms to resolve issues regarding the legality of table games has been moved to a new committee.
  • Jan. 9, 2024 – National sports betting operators announce their opposition to the California sports betting initiative, asking proponents to withdraw their proposal.
  • Jan. 2, 2024 – A California sports betting initiative proponent says he will begin collecting signatures to qualify the measure once the attorney general releases the circulating title and summary.

Why you should choose legal California online casino options

If you search for online casinos in California, you may encounter several sites claiming to be legal online casinos in the state. Sites like Bovada and BetOnline are slick, convincing, and professional.

However, these sites are not legal in the United States. Because they are often based in Costa Rica or Curaçao, we usually refer to them as “offshore” casinos.

Offshore casinos are unregulated, meaning they have no legal permission to operate in the United States. You are not covered by any state or federal consumer protection laws if you play casino games at those sites, so you have no recourse if they scam you.

This consumer vulnerability presents two major issues. First, you cannot trust the casino games hosted at those sites to deliver fair, accurate results. Licensed, legal online casinos in the United States can only host games that are independently verified for fairness and accuracy at labs approved by American regulators. That is not the case at offshore casinos.

Secondly, you cannot rely on an offshore casino to pay out if you request a withdrawal. They may simply decide not to pay you, and you cannot report them to any state or federal authorities, as they are unregulated. For those reasons, it is wise to steer well clear of offshore casinos. Stick to the legal options in the US.

California retail casinos & cardrooms

There are 89 cardrooms and 66 tribal casinos in California. These are the three largest retail casinos to visit.

  • Number of slots: 7,000+
  • Number of table games: 150+
  • Poker room: Yes
  • Year opened: 1986
  • Owner: San Manuel Band of Mission Indians

Yaamava’ Resort became the largest casino in California when it reopened in 2021. The venue offers a 290,000 sq. ft. gaming space, featuring more than 7,000 slot machines, a vast array of table games, a poker room, and four high-stakes rooms.

  • Number of slots: 7,000+
  • Number of table games: 200+
  • Poker room: Yes
  • Year opened: 2002
  • Owner: Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians

The $262 million Pechanga Resort & Casino opened its doors for the first time in June 2002. The gaming floor is 200,000 sq. ft., making it one of the largest casinos in the country, five times the size of MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

  • Number of slots: 4,000+
  • Number of table games: 80+
  • Poker room: Yes
  • Year opened: 2004
  • Owner: Morongo Band of Mission Indians

Morongo Casino is one of the largest tribal casinos in the country, with a 150,000 sq. ft. gaming space. Visitors can play slots, 3 Card Poker, 7 Card Stud, baccarat, blackjack, card craps, Fortune Pai Gow Poker, Face Up Pai Gow Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold’em and various other games.

Responsible gambling in California

California provides a range of free resources for anyone that wants to learn more about responsible gambling. The California Office of Problem Gambling site offers tips and advice, along with warning signs that could indicate a gambling problem.

If you have a gambling problem, you can get free help from a certified gambling counselor or licensed therapist in California. This service is normally free.

There is also a state-funded, no-cost inpatient treatment program in California, where you will live in a residential facility and receive around-the-clock care.

California Online Casinos FAQ

You can play for free and win cash prizes in the same way that you can enter and win cash prizes with other giveaways. Thus, it can become a cash prize in your pocket fairly easily.

There are a few different gambling regulators in California. The California Gambling Control Commission oversees card rooms in the state. It also works with the Bureau of Gambling Control and the California Tribal Gaming Agencies to regulate tribal casinos. The California Horse Racing Board regulates pari-mutuel betting on horse racing, while the California Lottery Commission runs the state lottery.

The minimum gambling age in California is 18. Players who are 18 or older can play casino games, buy CA lottery tickets, or bet on horse racing. However, many retail casinos serve alcohol, which means you must be 21 or older to visit them.

There are 76 retail casinos on tribal lands in California. The Golden State also has five mini-casinos, along with 72 state-licensed card rooms. The largest tribal casinos in California include Yaamava’ Resort Casino, Pechanga Casino, and Morongo Casino Resort & Spa.

Yes, you must pay taxes on any net profits you earn from gambling activities in California. The IRS deems gambling winnings to be taxable income. However, you only need to pay tax if you end the year with an overall profit- losses can be deducted from wins.

It is unwise to try to gamble online with a VPN if you are in California. Legal real money online casinos have sophisticated software that will detect your VPN, and you will not be accepted. A VPN may allow you to play at certain offshore casinos, but they are best avoided, as they may not pay out if you win.

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