The state isn’t quite as forward in the sports betting industry, and finding a sportsbook in California that caters to your exact betting needs can be tricky. However, whether you live in Los Angeles, San Francisco or Sacramento, there are online betting. The legalization of mobile sports betting, online casinos and poker remains a complex and thorny issue. Current legal online betting options in California consist of daily fantasy sports and horse racing.

1. Mobile Sports Betting California Lottery
2. California Sports Betting Law

California is one of the largest states in the country for professional sports, so it’s no surprise to hear that people have been searching for legal California online sportsbooks with which to wager.

There are five MLB teams, four NBA teams, three NFL teams, three NHL teams, three MLS teams, and over two dozen NCAA Division 1 clubs – with 11 FBS college football programs – within the state.

With so many options, CA residents have almost endless local options for teams and players to bet on year-round. Needless to say, sports-related betting is a huge component of the legal California online gambling market.

The repeal of PASPA in 2018 means that the Golden State now has the option to install state-regulated online and physical sports betting venues if they so choose. A 2020 bill to put sports betting on the November ballot was shelved, which means that online gambling sites operating offshore are currently the only legal options for CA sports bettors.

Is Online Sports Betting Legal In California?

Placing bets online in California is not illegal in any way as long as you are doing so through offshore sites that are legally regulated through the proper licensing channels overseas. There are no California gambling laws or federal laws in place to stop CA players from accessing these services or sites.

While offshore bookmakers have been providing their services to CA for decades, Golden State residents might one day see an extended range of options that includes domestic betting destinations. It would just require some changes to California’s online gambling laws.

However, while attempts have been made to do just that, as of late 2020, there has been no real movement in the legislature to get the market off the ground. A ballot measure for 2020 was shelved in the state assembly, and it won’t be revisited until 2022 at the earliest.

Legally Licensed Online California Sportsbooks

Below, you will find a listing of the best California sports betting operators that we recommend for players searching for legal and reputable gambling services. These websites have been vetted for legality, security, stability, quality, and overall reputation. Additionally, each is legitimately licensed in its home country to provide gambling services to CA players.

Best Betting Sites for California in 2021

Other California Gambling Pages

What Sports Can I Bet On Online?

The sportsbooks that we have recommended include a vast range of sports to choose from. They feature all the professional domestic sports organizations you expect, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and the MLS.

In addition, you’ll have betting access to all the major fights in the world of boxing and MMA. And, of course, college football betting is always available. Other popular markets include:

• Premier League Soccer
• Bundesliga Soccer
• La Liga Soccer
• World Cup Soccer
• International Rugby
• International Cricket
• International Hockey
• Professional Tennis
• Professional Golf
• Canadian Football
• Australian Rules Football
• Summer Olympics
• Winter Olympics
• eSports
• Sports Sims
• +More!

Bettors will find that licensed offshore CA online gambling sites are able to harness the flexibility afforded by the Internet to offer an extended range of options across all betting venues, including California online poker rooms, casinos and bingo halls.

Can I Bet on the Super Bowl Online if I live in California?

You absolutely can! All of the reputable online sportsbooks listed on this page welcome Super Bowl betting enthusiasts from California.

In fact, the Super Bowl is the most bet-on event in CA – and the rest of America – every year, and all the best online betting sites serving the state offer hundreds upon hundreds of bets for the big game.

Super Bowl futures are available year-round, and leading up to the big game, you’ll get more Super Bowl props than you can handle.

Are There Sports Betting Bonuses Available For CA Players?

The online sportsbook bonuses that are available to CA bettors are lucrative. At these top-tier providers, bettors will find valuable welcome bonuses and reload bonuses that can increase their deposits by 50-100% or more, especially when they fund their bets with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and other supported altcoins.

Online sports betting bonuses provide plenty of extra betting power but do come with wagering requirements attached, which are easy to meet.

All of the bonus offers provided by the books on this page have been vetted to include reasonable and attainable rollovers, so we recommend always accepting such betting promotions when they’re offered.

Can I Bet On Sports From My Mobile Phone?

You sure can! The most popular California sports betting sites are all fully mobile-optimized without any app downloads required.

With responsive web design that fits any size of screen or make/model of device, it doesn’t matter if you prefer iPhone sports betting or Android sports betting. As long as you have a reasonably current smartphone or tablet and an Internet connection, you can bet on the go from anywhere in the state.

Just log in to your betting service of choice, and you will have access to all of your account details, the ability to make mobile deposits and request mobile payouts, and the full menu of sports betting odds that you’d get via your site’s desktop portal.

Are There Live Betting Options Online?

Coupled naturally with the mobile platforms, the live-betting options are stunning and widely available. Right from the homepage of any top CA sports betting website, you will be confronted with the option to place those intense in-game bets.

Each of our listed brands offers multiple sports categories for live betting and live in-play betting, giving gamblers the chance to recover bad pre-game bets, double down on blowouts, and a financial incentive to play until the final whistle.

How Do Deposits And Withdrawals Work?

Every reputable online California sportsbook has their own wallet systems built into the member accounts that are protected by SSL data encryption and monitored by digital security firms around the clock. All the deposit options are US-friendly and typically include a selection of the following:

• Bitcoin
• Altcoins (Litecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Stellar, Bitcoin Cash, etc.)
• Zelle-To-Bitcoin
• Credit Cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express)
• Debit Cards
• International Gift Cards
• Bank Wires
• Cashier’s Checks
• Money Orders
• QB Direct
• Quickbit
• Casino Vouchers
• Player Transfers

Keep in mind that major credit and debit cards may not always successfully process due to federal banking laws such as the UIGEA, which prevents banks from knowingly processing transactions to and from gambling-related entities.

You can check our guide to USA online gambling deposits and withdrawals for more information as well as great alternatives for CA residents to use to fund their gambling accounts.

By far, the bet funding method we recommend above all others is crypto. When you deposit with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, you’ll get guaranteed instant transfers, the best deposit limits, no added fees of any kind, access to the best possible bonus enhancements, and the ability to claim same-day withdrawals.

Crypto is the only banking method that allows for same-day payouts at legal offshore CA sports betting sites.

California Professional Sports Teams To Bet On

NFL

• Los Angeles Chargers
• Los Angeles Rams
• San Francisco 49ers

NBA

• Los Angeles Lakers
• Los Angeles Clippers
• Golden State Warriors
• Sacramento Kings

MLB

• Los Angeles Angels
• Los Angeles Dodgers
• Oakland Athletics
• San Diego Padres
• San Francisco Giants

NHL

• Anaheim Ducks
• Los Angeles Kings
• San Jose Sharks

MLS

• LA Galaxy
• Los Angeles FC
• San Jose Earthquakes

California College Football Teams To Bet On

• Cal Poly San Luis Obispo – Mustangs
• Fresno State – Bulldogs
• Sacramento State – Hornets
• San Diego State University – Aztecs
• San Jose State University – Spartans
• Stanford University – Cardinal
• UC Berkeley – Golden Bears
• UC Davis – Aggies
• UCLA – Bruins
• University of San Diego – Toreros
• University of Southern California – Trojans

California tribes filed a proposed ballot initiative Wednesday to amend the state constitution to allow for sports betting at Indian gaming casinos and licensed racetracks.

That the effort from a powerful coalition of 18 Native American tribes leaves out the state’s cardrooms isn’t surprising given the longtime animosity between the state’s two main gaming stakeholders.

But why are tribes, even when giving themselves a dominant position in the state’s sports betting landscape, not asking for online wagering? After all, mobile and online wagers make up about 75% of all sports bets made in New Jersey.

Comments made by California tribal leaders last month at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas provide insight into their perspective on sports betting and why they are wary of putting it online.

CA tribes fear mobile sports betting as gateway to iGaming

Gambling has become essential to tribes in the state. California is the nation’s largest Indian gaming state, with 69 Indian casinos and annual revenues totaling $7 billion. It’s the top revenue source for their tribal governments, providing jobs for their people and money to protect their interests.

Speaking at a panel on the next five years of tribal gaming, Pechanga chairman Mark Macarro expressed that mobile sports betting in itself, with its single-digit profit margins, didn’t pose a threat to Indian country.

However, he feared that, through an unintended consequence or a loophole, mobile sports betting could quickly evolve into full mobile casino gaming.

“If that were to happen, we think, in California, it could potentially be a disaster,” Macarro said. “So, we have a lot of tribal leaders in California who are worried about that.”

He added that California tribes had the same concern about online poker in the past, which is why Pechanga fought to defeat previous efforts to legalize online poker.

CA tribes want to take it slow with sports betting

Panelists spoke about not being in a rush to get in on the small profit margins they see in sports betting.

Sure, they would welcome any bump in revenue. However, with small gains and big risks, if it were up to them, they would rather wait five years to analyze the impact that sports betting has on casinos, particularly tribal casinos, nationally.

“Everyone seems to want sports betting, and it’s being led by the industry, by the sports leagues and by the media companies,” said Victor Rocha, president of the tribal gaming advisory firm Victor Strategies and owner/editor of Pechanga.net, who moderated the panel.

“The industry is saying ‘Go, go, go!’ and we’re saying ‘slow, slow, slow.’”

In announcing the proposed ballot measure, chairman Anthony Roberts of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation lauded the initiative as a “viable and measured path that provides Californians with the opportunity to wager on sports.”

“Measured” is the keyword.

Then why are they pushing a ballot initiative to legalize sports betting?

With the national momentum to legalize and regulate sports betting, tribes can’t deny that it’s coming to California eventually. Nineteen states and Washington, D.C., now have legalized sports wagering.

The ballot measure is a way for tribes to give Californians a way to legally bet on sports while maintaining control of how it’s rolled out.

“The last 12 years, there was a lot of talk about internet poker and internet gaming,” Macarro said. “Right now, it’s sports betting. Whatever comes next, we want to be a part of it. We want some sense of control about it so it doesn’t overtake us. We need to be in the mix. We need to position ourselves to be in the mix.”

Outside forces are pushing for sports betting. Assemblyman Adam Gray and Sen. Bill Doddauthored Assembly Constitutional Amendment 16 and are planning to hold the first hearing in the next month for all stakeholders to express what they want to see legal sports betting look like in California.

This is the way for the tribes to take control and allow legal sports betting to roll out at a pace with which they are comfortable.

Mobile Sports Betting California Lottery

“We’ve never seen anything like this go from nothing to something so big,” Rocha said. “It’s like the industry was waiting for it. You need to get in front of it because this is a much bigger issue than us. There are other people involved in it.”

Presence of sports leagues changes the dynamic

There was plenty of industry momentum for online poker as well, and California’s Indian tribes had the strength to delay it for a decade until it got to the point that the energy dissipated. Online poker received no consideration in California during the past two years.

Sports betting brings another stakeholder to the party in the professional sports leagues. There are 16 sports teams in California over the four major professional sports leagues.

They also are pushing for legalized sports betting in states across the nation, and they possess a great deal of influence themselves.

“We need to understand that it’s being pushed,” Rocha said. “This isn’t a normal fight. This is one where we’re getting resistance and pushback from people we’ve never really been on the battlefield against.”

It bears noticing that the tribal proposal does not include any league asks, such as an official league data mandate, even though many tribes have long-standing relationships with sports teams.

Online wagering will be a key discussion point in California

If the tribes are putting out their own initiative, rather than waiting for the legislature’s bill, shows anything, it’s that mobile betting in the state will be at the forefront of future legislative hearings.

Rocha stressed that the tribes in California won’t be pressured or forced into making decisions by online sports betting companies, such as FanDuel and DraftKings, wanting to enter the state.

California Sports Betting Law

“The industry needs to understand that we’re not going to roll over for you guys,” Rocha said. “Just because you want to get your business off the ground doesn’t mean we need to help you. We’re going to take our time and do it right.”