A Guide the California Gambling Age for Casinos & Sports Betting

California has what could be considered a very liberal approach to the regulation of gambling. With over 70 tribal run land-based casinos, legalized Daily Fantasy Sports, a state lottery and one of the only states in the US that has 18+ casinos there is a lot to like about the Californian approach to gambling.

In this page we will outline the current legal status of all popular forms of gambling in CA and the legal gambling age California requires to participate in each of the legal gaming formats. We will also impart some insight into any future gambling law reforms that might be on the horizon for the Golden State.

In the table above we have outlined the legal gambling ages associated with each form of legalized gambling in California. If there is not an age listed under a particular form of gambling this then means that this form is not currently legalized.

In the sections below we will go into further details regarding the legal status of each form of gambling listed in the table above and discuss the legal gambling ages in California associated with each.

Casino Age in California

Historically California was not welcoming to casinos, however after legislative change in 2000 California legalized land-based casinos on tribal lands. Before this legislation was passed the only thing close to casino gambling available in California were card-table rooms. The first casinos opened in 2001 and there are currently 77 land-based casinos operated by local California tribes. These casinos are licensed to offer a wide range of Class III casino games, slot machines and electronic gambling machines.

The legal casino age in California is 18 as dictated by the state legislation. However, the vast majority of casinos set their entry age to 21 as they serve alcohol onsite, and the legal drinking age across the US is set at 21.

By legalizing land-based casinos on tribal lands California was able to reverse antiquated laws established in the early 20th century that outlawed traditional casino card games such as Blackjack, Baccarat and other card games in which players play against the house. Before this the only legal card gambling allowed within California were the games offered in card houses, these were legalized in 1984 and can only offer card games in which players play against each other and not the house.

What are The Casinos In California that accept 18 Year Olds?

While most of the states in the US have set the entry age to gamble at casinos to 21 as that is the legal gambling age. Under the legislation that established the right for tribal land-based casinos to operate in California, tribes were also given autonomy over the entry ages to their particular casinos – obviously within current state laws which dictates that there must be a minimum entry age of 18.

As casinos can be autonomous on their age limits a lot have stuck with the traditional entry age of 21 to mirror the legal drinking age – but 18 year olds shouldn’t be discouraged, there are still 20+ casinos in California that allow entry to those who are 18 years and older, we have listed the addresses of the top eight below.

Sports Betting In California

California is known as a state that, like many other US states, is very passionate about sport and specifically its local sports franchises. It does seem incongruous then that there are still quite a few limitations on resident’s abilities to place sports bets.

Since 1933 residents have been able to place pari-mutuel bets on horse racing within the state, however this has for a long time been limited to in person betting only and has only recently been taken online. The most recent significant legal development was in 2000 with the advent of Proposition 1A, under which tribal casinos are able to take sports bets onsite.

The legal betting age for all current sports betting in California is 18. The same age limit is applied to the only fully online type of sports betting that has an implied legality in California – Daily Fantasy Sports , which we will discuss this in more detail later on on this page.

Sports fans should not be disheartened though, as recently as May 2020 a new bill has been proposed to the California state legislature that proposes the legalization of online sports betting. The bill proposes that both land-based casinos and four racetracks in California bet set up to take sports bets, while also all being linked to the same online platform for those residents who wish to place bets online. The status of this bill is still TBC but we will update this page as soon as there is a definitive decision made.

CA Online Gambling Age

The one area of law California hasn’t definitively legislated on is online gambling. As California hasn’t made any definitive legal statement of the status of online gambling it exists as grey area of law. As the state hasn’t definitively ruled on web-based casino’s legality most would assume that it is not legal – however there are many operators who have set up shop offering casino games within California for those residents who want to wager.

As there hasn’t been any definitive ruling on online gambling’s status there technically isn’t an California online gambling age limit, however many online casinos operating within California have set theirs at 21 – once again mirroring the legal drinking age.

While California residents who want to gamble online are undoubtedly very happy that they are able to enjoy casino classics such as Blackjack, Roulette and Baccarat from the safety of their own homes because of this legal grey around, there are certain things players should be wary of.

Firstly, as there is no definitive ruling on online casino’s legal status they are not regulated nor do they answer to any gambling authority – therefore any players are not covered by any current California consumer protection laws. Secondly, the status of internet gambling in California could change and if the state does rule to make online casino gambling illegal players current activities would then by this ruling also become illegal.

In regards any future developments to California making a definitive ruling on the legality of online casino gambling, the recent bill that has been proposed to the state legislature which includes proposed legality of online sports betting is a step in the right direction. If this proposed bill does pass, this could be the impetuous needed to force the California state legislature to make a ruling on online casino gambling’s legality once and for all – whether this happens though remains to be seen.

Online Poker/Poker Gambling Age

One area in which California is quite unique compared to the majority of other US states is that they have legalized card rooms in which players have been able to legally gamble since 1984.

Card rooms have operated within California for over three decades and offer gamblers the opportunity to engage in card games in which players are playing each other and not the house, the most popular of these games is poker. The fact that players play each other and not the house is the rationale on which card rooms legality is based on. In order to play in these card rooms players legally have to be over 18 years of age.

In accordance with California’s current anti online gambling stance there are no online poker rooms legally available in the state. However, as mentioned before, as the gambling in California exists in such a legal grey area some operators do offer online poker but these operators are not regulated by the state and playing with them could be a risky undertaking for players.

Since the advent of California’s land-based casinos there has been a tension between card rooms and tribes running the casinos. The tension has arisen through the fact that the tribes who own the casinos believe there is too much leeway given to card rooms and that they encroach on the casinos turf. This tension is set to further escalate if a recently proposed gambling reform bill is passed, included in this bill is a provision that will cement that card rooms can continue to operate without the threat of tribal lawsuits – which local tribes are not happy about.

Daily Fantasy Sports

Daily Fantasy Sports, like most online gambling in California exists in a legal grey area. While there are no laws explicitly outlawing Daily Fantasy Sports in California there are also none that legalize it either. Instead Daily Fantasy Sports appears to operate under an implied legality within the Golden State. In line with the legal drinking age players have to be 21 to play Daily Fantasy sports in California.

In 2015 there were moves by the California State Legislature to legalize Daily Fantasy Sports when a bill was presented to the state senate. However, as major gambling powers cannot agree on the technicalities of the bill, this bill is still in limbo. These major players being the tribes who run the casinos, race-tracks and card rooms, any legislation passed on Daily Fantasy Sports will impact these three parties as it could take gamblers away from them.

Legal Age to Play the Lottery in California

California has run a state lottery since 1985 with all revenue raised going towards state educational charities. Players have to be over 18 years of age to participate in the state lottery and when participating they have the choice of many different types of lottery to engage with such as lottery pools, local draws and scratch cards. The state lottery is regulated and run by calottery. Currently the only way to purchase any lottery tickets is physically in person.

While there are no current moves to take the California lottery online, there is already an app made available by calottery on which players are able to check their lottery ticket numbers. Therefore, it only seems to be a matter of time before players are also able to purchase tickets through the app or web-browser. But as the current revenues the state draws from the state lottery don’t seem to be hindered by the lack of an online purchase offering, the state legislature isn’t in a rush to legalise an online lottery soon.

California Gambling Laws & Future Outlook

Currently California is viewed as a very liberal state when it comes to gambling laws. The state’s gambling laws can be found within the California state Penal Code 330 and Bus and Prof Code 19400. Under the Penal Code illegal gambling is defined as, ‘dealing, playing, or conducting, games of faro, monte, roulette, lansquenet, rouge et noir, rondo, tan, fantan, seven-and-a-half, twenty-one, hokey pokey, or any banking or percentage game played with cards or dice.’

Gambling activities that fall outside of the penal code such as card-room games, land-based casinos, state lottery and pari-mutuel horse race betting each have specific legislature explicitly outlining its legality. Whereas other forms of gambling not mentioned in the penal code such as Daily Fantasy Sports and online gambling operate in a grey legal area through an implied legality which is sometimes justified by its omission from the penal code.

In California there is no legislated gambling tax applied to gambling winnings across all legalized forms of gambling. Instead any winnings players might earn through gambling is taxed at each individual’s personal income tax bracket when the winnings are declared to the IRS. One tax residents of California should take note of though is the 24% federal tax that is applied to all lottery winnings alongside the state personal income tax.

As mentioned several times on this page, California has very liberal gambling laws and are making moves to further liberalize them. There is currently a bill before the state legislature that proposes the legalization of online sports betting and further gambling amendments that include the concreate legalization of the card games offered by card rooms.

While it would appear on face value that the bill should pass through easily as legalizing sports betting would open up further opportunities for two of the major power players in the California gambling landscape, these being racetracks and tribal casinos. However, as card rooms are left out of the equation with sports bets, and the high likelihood that tribal casinos will protest at the concessions made to further cement card rooms legality, the bill might take some time to pass.

Frequently Asked Questions

We hope we have been able to give you a good insight into the legal forms of gambling allowed in the state and the gambling age California has set for each. Should you have any further questions we have answered some of the most frequently answered questions below. To check out other states, head to our USA gambling age guide.