Sports Betting in the State of California — Understanding the Legalities

If you’re from California, you are most likely both an avid sports fan and proponent of legalizing sports betting in the state. At the moment, retail and online sports betting is not legal in California, and this will not be reversed until Americans take a vote on the issue; the only comparable type of gambling legalized in the state is tribal casinos. The earliest that this vote can take place is in November 2023, and if passed, it would still take approximately another year for any legislature to pass, and that’s assuming that lawmakers prioritize it.

The initial assumption is that this gives a pretty gloomy outlook for California legalizing sports betting in the near future. However, there are still ways for CA residents to take part in sports bets. The options include traveling to neighboring states, like Arizona or Nevada, or using offshore sports betting sites that accept US customers. Californians can also head to tribal casinos or racetracks to explore the betting options that the state has so far.

Although it is not yet legal to partake in sports betting in the Golden State, citizens can travel to any number of nearby states. Regions like Nevada and Arizona all have countless licensed operators which participants can use to place their bets. You can also visit Oregon to enjoy sports betting, but the state only has one mobile sportsbook; all other bets must be placed in person.

If you don’t have the option of venturing to a nearby state where sports betting is legalized, you’ll still want to familiarize yourself with how online sports bets work, and with current sporting news. Keeping up to date with the latest in sports news is key, from who’s being signed or dropped, which team and players are favorites to win, and what the current odds are. The more you know, the more you’ll be able to make well-informed betting decisions when sports betting undoubtedly becomes legal in California in the future.

A way to get around the issue of the legality of sports betting in California is to make use of digital sportsbooks based overseas. There are multiple offshore sportsbooks that are safe, legal, and allow US citizens to play. Before going down this route, however, we recommend making sure that the operator you use is licensed and legal for Californians, and offers privacy and security.

The legislative session in California began on January 3, 2023, and since then there have not been any major efforts to legalize sports betting. However, on 22 March, Sparket announced that they were to launch the Social Network, which is a sports betting app, at two casinos based in the Coachella Valley, in partnership with the 29 Palms Band of Mission Indians.

There was a bill put forward in November 2022, on which there were 2 propositions, Prop 26 and Prop 27, on the legality of sports betting, but these were voted against. Proposition 26 was a tribal initiative that aimed to legalize retail sports betting at tribal casinos and racetracks in the county of Los Angeles, and the cities of Orange, San Diego, and Alameda. The Prop wanted to prohibit online sports betting, which created outrage amongst adversaries who did not want to hinder the potential of the CA online betting market.

Proposition 27, or the California Online Sports Betting Initiative, became known as the California Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support Act. It was created with the aim of building an online sports betting market, by requiring all betting sites to partner with a tribal casino. Large commercial sportsbook operators were proponents of the bill, and had contributed large sums of their resources to pushing it forwards. The reason for the proposition’s nickname is that California-based tribes would receive 15% of all tax proceeds collected from any online sports betting in the state, with the other 85% going to help solve the issue of homelessness.

California has no shortage of impressive sports teams, making the prospect of sports betting being legalized all the more exciting. The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the most successful groups in Major League Baseball, having secured seven World Series championships and worldwide recognition. Some of the most well-known sports teams in the state include the Los Angeles Rams, the Golden State Warriors, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Los Angeles Chargers. All three of them have been predicted to have abundant 2023 seasons, after a tumultuous 2022.

There are a few different types of sports betting to partake in once the activity is legal in California: moneylines, outright, parlay, and player prop.

Moneylines are arguably the most popular bet, because they are the most simple to understand. Moneyline bets work by picking a team to win a game at the odds predicted when your bet is placed. If the team you bet on wins, then you also win. The payout is based on the odds at the time you played, regardless of if they improved or worsened over time.

Outright bets are placed on entire sporting events, such as the Super Bowl or the World Series. These types of wagers can be undertaken all year round typically, but the odds tend to fluctuate more when it’s closer to the event starting.

Parlays are a little more complicated, but they do allow you to combine multiple bets. These types of bets pay better odds, but that’s because you have to win each individual bet to receive the final payout, making the risk somewhat higher than a simpler outright bet.

Player props involve betting on something other than the overall score or outcome of a sports game. Instead, they might focus on the achievements or performance of an individual player. Popular player props include predicting which player will score first, or which player will score the most throughout the course of the game.

To conclude, sports betting has not yet been legalized in California. This does not mean that the day will not come when sports fans can place bets on their favorite teams or players, but it’s not likely that any constitutional changes will come into play before 2024 at the earliest. In the meantime, it’s a good idea to brush up on your knowledge of major sports leagues such as the NFL, MLB, and NBA.