Gambling Laws in California: Casinos, Card Rooms, and Betting

Gambling laws in California start from a flat prohibition and then carve out exceptions. Penal Code Section 330 makes it a misdemeanor to run or play any “banking or percentage game” for money, and everything legal in the state, from tribal casinos to church bingo, exists only because a statute, a voter-approved amendment, or a tribal compact created a narrow exemption. Sports betting outside horse racing is illegal, and so are online casinos.

The Default Rule Against Commercial Gambling

Penal Code Section 330 is where every California gambling question begins. It prohibits anyone from dealing, operating, or playing any banking or percentage game for money or anything of value. A banking game is one where the house takes on the risk of each wager and pays winners from its own funds. A percentage game is one where the operator takes a cut of the money wagered. Both operators and players can be charged.

A violation is a misdemeanor: a fine of $100 to $1,000, up to six months in county jail, or both.¹ The California Gambling Control Act reinforces the point, declaring that state law “prohibits commercially operated lotteries, banked or percentage games, and gambling machines.”² Everything below is an exception to that baseline.

Tribal Casinos

Tribal casinos are the only venues in California where the house can bank games. Their authority comes from the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, which allows federally recognized tribes to operate Class III gaming on tribal lands. Class III covers slot machines, banked card games, and other casino-style games.³

Before offering Class III games, a tribe must negotiate a Tribal-State Gaming Compact with California. Compacts are government-to-government agreements ratified by the State Legislature under the Government Code, and each one spells out which games the tribe may offer, the size of the operation, and revenue-sharing obligations.⁴ Tribal casinos are sovereign operations, and each tribe sets its own house rules, including age policies.

Licensed Card Rooms

Card rooms are the other in-person option, and they run under fundamentally different rules than tribal casinos. The house can never bank a game. Card rooms make money by collecting a fixed fee or a rake from each hand or pot. Every owner and employee must hold a state gambling license issued by the California Gambling Control Commission after a background investigation by the Bureau of Gambling Control.⁵

To offer games that would otherwise be banked, card rooms use a player-dealer system. The privilege of acting as banker rotates among players at the table. State regulations require that the position be offered to every seated player before each hand, and it must rotate to at least two players (other than any third-party provider) every 40 minutes, or the game ends.⁶ Many card rooms contract with Third-Party Providers of Proposition Player Services so a banker is always available, but the rotation rule still applies. No single entity can function as a permanent house bank.

The State Lottery

California voters created the State Lottery in 1984 through Proposition 37. Current law requires that at least 87 percent of annual ticket revenue go back to the public as prizes and net revenue for public education, with no more than 13 percent spent on administration.⁷

You must be at least 18 to buy tickets or claim a prize, and retailers must post that age restriction on any ticket-dispensing device.⁸ California does not tax State Lottery winnings for state income tax, though federal income tax still applies.⁹

Horse Racing

Pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing is the only sports-related betting California currently allows. The California Horse Racing Board regulates the industry under the Business and Professions Code.¹⁰ In a pari-mutuel system, all bets on a race go into a pool. Winners split the pool after the track takes its commission. You’re betting against other bettors, not the house.

You can place wagers at licensed racetracks, satellite facilities, and authorized online platforms for both live and simulcast races. The federal Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978, as amended in 2000, specifically authorizes interstate pari-mutuel wagers placed “via telephone or other electronic media” as long as the activity is lawful in both states involved.¹¹ That federal authorization is why online horse race betting is legal even though California otherwise bars online gambling.

Charitable Bingo and Raffles

Nonprofits can run bingo games and raffles, but both come with restrictions designed to keep them charitable rather than commercial.

Bingo

Penal Code Section 326.5 exempts bingo from the general prohibition when it’s conducted by a qualifying tax-exempt organization in a city or county that has authorized bingo by local ordinance. All receipts must go to charitable purposes aside from prizes and a limited overhead allowance. No one running the game may take a profit, wage, or salary from it, though security personnel can be paid from bingo revenues. Overhead is capped at the lower of 20 percent of gross proceeds or $3,000 per month, with the monthly cap adjusted annually for inflation starting in 2025.¹²

Raffles

Penal Code Section 320.5 lets tax-exempt nonprofits that have been qualified to do business in California for at least one year hold raffles. At least 90 percent of gross ticket revenue must go to the organization’s charitable purposes. Any employee compensated in connection with the raffle must be a regular employee, and their pay cannot come from the charitable portion of the proceeds.¹³

Unless exempt, the organization must register with the Attorney General’s Registry of Charities and Fundraisers before the raffle. The registration year runs January 1 through December 31, and applications are due on or before January 1. Any Section 320.5 violation is a misdemeanor.¹³

Private Home Games

Low-stakes gambling among friends in a private setting is legal, but only if no one profits from running the game. For a home poker night to stay on the right side of the line, no host, organizer, or third party can take a cut of the pot, charge an entry fee, or collect any compensation tied to the game’s operation. Every dollar wagered has to flow between the players.

The moment someone collects a rake, charges admission, or pays a dealer from the pot, the game becomes an illegal percentage game under Penal Code Section 330, punishable by the same fine of $100 to $1,000 and up to six months in county jail.¹ The dividing line is whether anyone other than a winning player walks away with money.

Sports Betting and Online Gambling Are Illegal

Outside of pari-mutuel horse racing, sports betting is illegal in California. Voters had a chance to change that in November 2022 with two ballot measures: Proposition 26, which would have legalized in-person sports betting at tribal casinos and racetracks and added roulette and craps to tribal gaming, and Proposition 27, which would have legalized online sports betting statewide. Both failed decisively. No new sports betting legislation has advanced since.

Real-money online casino games are also prohibited. California has not licensed any platform to offer virtual slots, blackjack, poker, or other casino games for cash, and that extends to mobile apps. The one online exception is pari-mutuel horse racing through licensed platforms, which has its own federal authorization.

Daily Fantasy Sports

Daily fantasy sports sits in a gray area. The federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 excludes fantasy sports from its definition of illegal internet gambling as long as outcomes depend “predominantly on the relative skill of the participants” rather than chance.¹⁴ Major operators have continued serving California players, but the state has not passed legislation explicitly authorizing or regulating the industry.

Online Sweepstakes Casinos

California moved directly against online sweepstakes casinos in 2025. AB 831, signed into law as Chapter 623 of the 2025 Statutes, makes it unlawful for any entity, payment processor, platform provider, or media affiliate to knowingly support the operation of an online sweepstakes game in California. These sites had used a virtual-currency model to mimic real casino games while arguing they weren’t technically gambling. That workaround is now illegal under state law.

Minimum Ages by Activity

Age requirements depend on what you’re doing. You must be at least 18 to buy lottery tickets or place pari-mutuel wagers on horse races.⁸ Most card rooms require players to be 21, though the state Gambling Control Act only sets 18 as the minimum age for card room owners and operators; individual card rooms and local ordinances commonly set the patron threshold at 21. Tribal casinos set their own policies as sovereign governments. Most require patrons to be 21, but some allow entry at 18 for specific areas, so check the casino’s website before you go.

Taxes on Winnings

Gambling winnings are taxable income at both the federal and state level, with one exception: California does not tax winnings from its own State Lottery, including SuperLotto Plus, Powerball, and Mega Millions tickets purchased in-state.⁹ Winnings from tribal casinos, card rooms, horse racing, raffles, and out-of-state gambling are all subject to California income tax as part of your federal adjusted gross income.

On the federal side, payers issue a Form W-2G once winnings hit reporting thresholds set by the IRS, and when net winnings exceed $5,000 and are at least 300 times the wager, the payer must withhold 24 percent for federal income tax.¹⁵ All gambling income has to be reported on your federal return whether or not tax was withheld.

You can deduct gambling losses only if you itemize on Schedule A, and only up to the amount of gambling income you reported that year. Win $8,000 and lose $12,000, and your maximum deduction is $8,000. Keep a session diary along with receipts, tickets, and statements showing both wins and losses.¹⁶

Self-Exclusion From Card Rooms

California’s Bureau of Gambling Control maintains a confidential self-exclusion list for people who want to ban themselves from licensed card rooms. You can choose a one-year term, which is irrevocable for the full period, or a lifetime term, which can be reconsidered after a minimum of one year.¹⁷ Once enrolled, you’re prohibited from entering any licensed card room in the state and forfeit any unredeemed jackpots or prizes during the exclusion term. The program does not cover tribal casinos or horse racing facilities. Tribal casinos maintain their own exclusion policies through each tribe’s gaming commission.

1
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code Section 330 (2025)
2
California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 19801
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 USC Ch. 29 – Indian Gaming Regulation
4
California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12012.57 (2024)
5
State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Cardrooms
6
California Department of Justice. California Code of Regulations Title 11, Section 2076 – Games with a Player-Dealer Position
7
California Legislative Information. California Government Code 8880.4 (2025)
8
California Legislative Information. California Government Code 8880.52
9
Franchise Tax Board – CA.gov. Gambling – Personal Income Types
10
Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 4, Section 1902 – Conduct Detrimental to Horse Racing
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC Ch. 57 – Interstate Horseracing
12
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 326.5
13
State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Nonprofit Raffles
14
eCFR. 12 CFR Part 233 – Prohibition on Funding of Unlawful Internet Gambling (Regulation GG)
15
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754
16
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 419 – Gambling Income and Losses
17
State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Exclusion Program