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Best Casinos in California in 2023

John Ford | July 6, 2022 | Updated on: January 4th, 2023

best casinos in california

Casinos in California aren’t all that difficult to find if you visit venues located on Native American reservations. In fact, it was the first state to allow such agreements. However, if you are looking to find a casino outside of reservations, a California card room will have to do it for you.

Currently, no other gambling venues are legal off reservations other than world-famous card rooms. If you want to learn more about gambling in California and the complicated history surrounding it, read on below.

Top California Online Casinos

#1

$10,000 BONUS

97.9% Payout

Rating: 4.7/5

98% Payout

$10,000 BONUS 97.9% Payout - Rating: 4.8/5
#2

$5,000 BONUS

97.09% Payout

Rating: 4.7/5

99% Payout

$5000 BONUS 97.09% Payout - Rating: 4.8/5
#3

$7,500 BONUS

98% Payout

Rating: 4.9/5

98% Payout

$7500 BONUS 97.9% Payout - Rating: 4.9/5
#4

$2,000 BONUS

97% Payout

Rating: 4.7/5

97% Payout

$2000 BONUS 97% Payout - Rating: 4.7/5
#5

$5,000 BONUS

98% Payout

Rating: 4.7/5

98% Payout

$5,000 BONUS 98% Payout - Rating: 4.8/5
#6

$9,000 BONUS

97.9% Payout

Rating: 4.7/5

98% Payout

$9,000 BONUS 97.9% Payout - Rating: 4.8/5

Casinos in California Links

california gambling laws

Types of Live Gambling in California

There are four types of brick-and-mortar gambling options in the state of California:

  1. Card rooms – there are loads of popular card rooms scattered across the Golden State. These rooms offer players the chance to play a wide variety of games, including baccarat, blackjack, and poker, among others. These card rooms have even been the birthplace of new variations.
  2. State lottery – during the 1980s, California established a state lottery to help fund public schools. Games available include keno and scratch cards. Both players in Nevada and California play these games, with most tickets being sold at shops located on the two states’ border.
  3. Indian casinos in California – since being ratified in 2000, Indian casinos have mushroomed across the state, giving players the chance to play even more casino games.
  4. Horse racing betting – horse racing betting has been available in California since 1933. It is the oldest form of gambling available in the state.
online gambling in california

Online Gambling in California

There are a couple of explicitly legal forms of online gambling in California, including:

  • Horse Racing – it is possible to bet on horse racing online in California. However, the race that gamblers bet on needs to occur at one of the state’s racetracks.
  • Daily Fantasy Sports – there aren’t any laws preventing daily fantasy sports operators from offering their service to gamblers in California. Operators claim it is a game of skill rather than a game of chance.

There have been attempts to legalize online poker rooms, but all attempts have turned sour towards the end. Offshore online casinos are not explicitly banned, so joining them without facing legal consequences is possible.
gambling laws in california

California Gambling Laws Explained

California legal processes require gambling laws to be approved by citizens, which includes issuing a state referendum. Every form of legal gambling in the state went through this process to be legalized.

In terms of legal gambling, horse racing was the first to be permitted. Bettors are allowed to make off-track bets only on races taking place in California. Following horse racing, a state lottery program including scratch-off tickets and keno-style games, was legalized to help fund public schools. Since then, interstate games like Powerball and Mega Millions have also been introduced.

Charity-based gambling games are also legal; however, the overall prize-pool needs to be less than 20% of the proceeds going to charity. Events cannot be run with business intent. People operating the event need to be volunteers.

In terms of casino-style gambling venues, California is very famous for its legal card rooms. At first, only poker was permitted in these venues, but this has since grown to include other famous casino games, including blackjack, baccarat, and pai gow poker.

Finally, if players want to play more than just card games, they need to look at an Indian casino. These venues allow California players to play games, such as slots, video poker, and bingo. The only two games that are not allowed are craps and roulette. Casinos are required to pay tax on games not allowed at card clubs or racetracks.
best indian casinos in california

Best Indian Casinos in California

If you are looking to visit California casinos that allow you to play slots and other less accessible games of chance, we recommend visiting one of these casinos:

Casino Address
Augustine Casino – Coachella 84-001 Avenue 54 at Van Buren
Barona Casino – Lakeside 1932 Wildcat Canyon Road
Agua Caliente Casino – Rancho Mirage 32-250 Bob Hope Drive
Bear River Casino – Loleta 11 Bear Paws Way
Blue Lake Casino 777 Casino Way
Black Oak Casino – Tuolumne 19400 Tuolumne Road North
Cahuilla Creek Casino – Anza 52702 Highway 371
Cache Creek Casino – Brooks 14455 CA-16
Cher-Ae Heights Casino – Trinidad 27 Scenic Drive
Chicken Ranch Casino – Jamestown 16929 Chicken Ranch Road
Casino Pauma – Pauma Valley 777 Pauma Reservation Road
Chumash Casino – Santa Ynez 3400 East Highway 246
Chukchansi Gold Casino – Coarsegold 711 Lucky Lane
Colusa Casino 3770 Highway 45
Cloverdale Rancheria Casino Highway 101
Desert Rose Casino – Alturas 901 County Road 56
Coyote Valley Casino – Redwood Valley 7751 North State Street
Eagle Mountain Casino – Porterville 681 South Tule Road
Diamond Mountain Casino – Susanville 900 Skyline Drive
Fantasy Springs Casino – Indio 84-245 Indio Springs Parkway
Elk Valley Casino – Crescent City 2500 Howland Hill Road
Garcia River Casino – Point Arena 22215 Windy Hollow Road
Feather Falls Casino – Oroville 3 Alverda Drive
Gold Country Casino – Oroville 4020 Olive Highway
Golden Acorn Casino – Campo 1800 Golden Acorn Way
Havasu Landing Casino – Needles 1 Main
Graton Casino – Rohnert Park 288 Golf Course Drive West
Hidden Oaks Casino – Covelo 76700 Covelo Road
Hollywood Casino Jamul 14191 Highway 94
Hopland Sho-Ka-Wah Casino 13101 Nokomis Road
Harrah’s – Valley Center 777 Harrah’s Rincon Way
Konocti Vista Casino – Lakeport 2755 Mission Rancheria Road
Jackson Rancheria Casino 12222 New York Ranch Road
Lucky Bear Casino – Hoopa 12510 State Highway 96
Lucky 7 Casino – Smith River 350 North Indian Road
Morongo Casino – Cabazon 49500 Seminole Drive
Mono Wind Casino – Auberry 37302 Rancheria Lane
Pala Casino 11154 Highway 76
Paiute Palace Casino – Bishop 2742 North Sierra Highway
Pit River Casino – Burney 20265 Tamarack Avenue
Quechan Casino – Winterhaven 525 Algodones Road
Pechanga Casino – Temecula 45000 Pechanga Parkway
Red Fox Casino – Laytonville 200 Cahto Drive
River Rock Casino – Geyserville 3250 Highway 128 East
Red Earth Casino – Salton City 3089 Norm Niver Road
Red Hawk Casino – Placerville 1 Red Hawk Boulevard
Rolling Hills Casino – Corning 2655 Barham Avenue
Robinson Rancheria Casino – Nice 1545 East Highway 20
San Pablo Lytton Casino 13255 San Pablo Ave.
Running Creek Casino – Upper Lake 35 E. Highway 20
Sherwood Valley Casino – Willits 100 Kawi Place
San Manuel Indian Casino – Highland 777 San Manuel Blvd.
Soboba Casino – San Jacinto 23333 Soboba Road
Spotlight 29 Casino – Coachella 46-200 Harrison Place
Sycuan Casino – El Cajon 5485 Casino Way
Spa Resort Casino – Palm Springs 401 East Amado Rd.
Tachi Palace Casino – Lemoore 17225 Jersey Avenue
Table Mountain Casino – Friant 8184 Table Mountain Road
Tortoise Rock Casino – Twentynine Palms 73829 Base Line Rd.
Thunder Valley Casino – Lincoln 1200 Athens Avenue
Viejas Casino – Alpine 5000 Willows Road
Valley View Casino – Valley Center 16300 Nyemii Pass Road
Winnedumah Winn’s Casino – Independence 135 South Highway 395
Twin Pine Casino – Middletown 22223 Highway 29
Win-River Casino – Redding 2100 Redding Rancheria Road
top california casinos usa

History of Gambling in California

Poker has never been considered gambling in the Golden State. So, it has always been possible for gamblers in California to play poker for real money. Thus, the first form of gambling to be legalized in the state was horse racing, which happened in 1933.

Following the legalization of horse racing, it took more than fifty years until another form of gambling was made legal. In November 1983, the state lottery was made legal, which proved very popular with both people living in California and Nevada.

Two years later, off-track betting was made legal, meaning sports bettors could bet on any horse race taking place at a California track without having to be there.

In 2000, the state gave approved tribal casinos on Native American reservations. Since then, several casinos have formed, with California players having a wide variety of options available.

California is now looking to the future of gambling. While very little progress has been made to legalize online poker and sports betting, state legislators have looked at it.

Top California Casinos FAQs

Check out our other state guides: