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| Note: There are 29 California codes. |
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Legal forms of gambling in the U.S. state of California include cardrooms, Indian casinos, the California State Lottery, parimutuel wagering on horse racing, and charitable gaming. Commercial casino-style gaming is prohibited.
Unregulated, daily fantasy sports is active in California, though the end of 2023 brought much attention to this by State Senator Scott Wilk. He wrote a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta asking him to focus on whether gambling laws prohibit paid DFS contests. With other states claiming paid daily fantasy contests should require a sports betting license, the status of DFS in California is up in the air. [1]
Licensed cardrooms may offer approved card games in which players vie against each other (rather than against the house), such as poker. [2] As of 2019, there were 66 cardrooms operating in the state (and another 21 licensed but not operating). [3] Since 1995, there has been a moratorium on new cardrooms. [4] [5] The industry generated $850 million in revenue after payouts in 2018. [4]
Non-banked card games such as poker have always been legal in the state. [6] The California Penal Code, enacted in 1872, prohibited several casino games by name, as well as all house-banked games, but did not outlaw poker. [7] Cardrooms also operate non-banked versions of card games such as pai gow poker and baccarat, where players can take turns playing the dealer hand against the other players. [8] However, in these cardrooms, an independent operator known in state law as a "third party provider of proposition services" usually acts as the "house" and the casino earns revenue on a fee charged to the proposition service provider and fees charged to players to play a hand. [9] [10] [11] Statewide cardroom regulations were enacted in 1984. [12] In 1997, the Gambling Control Act was adopted, which created the California Gambling Control Commission to regulate California cardrooms. [12]
Eligible nonprofit organizations may operate bingo games, [13] raffles, [14] and poker nights. [15] Organizations are limited to one poker night per year. [15]
State voters in 1976 approved a constitutional amendment allowing counties and cities to legalize charitable bingo. [16] [17] An amendment to allow charitable raffles passed in 2000, and enabling legislation went into effect in 2001. [18] [19] Legislation allowing poker night fundraisers took effect in 2007. [20] [21]
Parimutuel wagering on horse racing is permitted at racetracks and satellite wagering facilities, and online through advance-deposit wagering providers. [22] [23] Extended racing meets are held throughout the year at five tracks: Cal Expo, Del Mar, Golden Gate Fields, Los Alamitos, and Santa Anita. [24] Four other fairgrounds tracks hold brief meets in the summer and early fall. [24] There are 27 satellite wagering facilities throughout the state, most of them found at county fairgrounds, cardrooms, and tribal casinos. [25] Racing and wagering is regulated by the California Horse Racing Board. [26] As of 2018, the annual amount wagered on California races was $3.2 billion, with $662 million retained after payouts. [27]
Horse race wagering was legalized by voter referendum in 1933. [28] Satellite wagering was first legalized at fairgrounds in 1985, [29] and was expanded to private facilities in 2008. [30] Advance-deposit wagering became legal in 2002. [31]
Federally recognized tribes can operate casinos under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. As of 2019, there were 63 casinos operated by 61 different tribes. [32] The industry generates approximately $8 billion in annual revenue after payouts. [4] Pursuant to tribal-state compacts negotiated with the state, tribes with larger casinos share a portion of their revenues with non-gaming or limited gaming tribes (those with fewer than 350 slot machines). [33]
The California State Lottery offers scratchcards and draw games, including the multi-state Powerball and Mega Millions games. [34]
The Lottery was approved by voter referendum in 1984 and sold its first tickets in 1985. [35]
Gambling is the wagering of something of value on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elements to be present: consideration, risk (chance), and a prize. The outcome of the wager is often immediate, such as a single roll of dice, a spin of a roulette wheel, or a horse crossing the finish line, but longer time frames are also common, allowing wagers on the outcome of a future sports contest or even an entire sports season.
Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a huge increase in the number of poker players worldwide. Christiansen Capital Advisors stated online poker revenues grew from $82.7 million in 2001 to $2.4 billion in 2005, while a survey carried out by DrKW and Global Betting and Gaming Consultants asserted online poker revenues in 2004 were at $1.4 billion. In a testimony before the United States Senate regarding Internet Gaming, Grant Eve, a Certified Public Accountant representing the US Accounting Firm Joseph Eve, Certified Public Accountants, estimated that one in every four dollars gambled is gambled online.
In the United States, a sportsbook or a race and sports book is a place where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, including golf, football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer, horse racing, greyhound racing, boxing, and mixed martial arts. The method of betting varies with the sport and the type of game. In the US, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 allowed only Nevada, Oregon, Montana, and Delaware to legally wager on sports other than horse racing, greyhound racing, and jai alai; the law was ruled unconstitutional on May 14, 2018, freeing states to legalize sports betting at their discretion.
Online gambling is any kind of gambling conducted on the internet. This includes virtual poker, casinos, and sports betting. The first online gambling venue opened to the general public was ticketing for the Liechtenstein International Lottery in October 1994. Today, the market is worth around $40 billion globally each year, according to various estimates.
Canterbury Park, is a horse racing track in Shakopee, Minnesota, United States. Canterbury Park Holding Corporation hosts parimutuel wagering on live thoroughbred and quarter horse racing at its facilities in Shakopee and parimutuel wagering on races held at out-of-state racetracks that are simulcast to the racetrack. In addition, the Canterbury Park Card Casino operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is also regulated by the Minnesota Racing Commission. Casino games include blackjack, baccarat, Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em, and poker. Canterbury Park also derives revenue from related services and activities, such as concessions, parking, admissions, and programs, and from other entertainment events held at the racetrack. Furthermore, Canterbury Park is pursuing a strategy to enhance shareholder value by developing approximately 140 acres of underutilized land surrounding the racetrack in a project known as Canterbury Commons. The company is pursuing several mixed-use development opportunities for the underutilized land, directly and through joint ventures.
In the United States, gambling is subject to a variety of legal restrictions. In 2008, gambling activities generated gross revenues of $92.27 billion in the United States.
Commerce Casino is a cardroom located in the Los Angeles suburb of Commerce. With over 240 tables on site, Commerce Casino is the largest cardroom in the world. Established in 1983, the casino accounted for 38% of Commerce's tax revenues for the 2006-2007 fiscal year. As of 2016, the casino was providing $22 million a year in licensing fees to the city.
Gambling in Oregon relates to the laws, regulations, and authorized forms of gambling.
Gambling in Pennsylvania includes casino gambling, the Pennsylvania Lottery, horse racing, bingo, and small games of chance conducted by nonprofit organizations and taverns under limited circumstances. Although casino gaming has been legal for less than two decades, Pennsylvania is second only to Nevada in commercial casino revenues.
Gambling in New Jersey includes casino gambling in Atlantic City, the New Jersey Lottery, horse racing, off-track betting, charity gambling, amusement games, and social gambling. New Jersey's gambling laws are among the least restrictive in the United States. In 2013, the state began to allow in-state online gambling. Five years later, the state won a lawsuit that dismantled Nevada's monopoly on legal sports betting.
Daily fantasy sports (DFS) are a subset of fantasy sport games. As with traditional fantasy sports games, players compete against others by building a team of professional athletes from a particular league or competition while remaining under a salary cap, and earn points based on the actual statistical performance of the players in real-world competitions. Daily fantasy sports are an accelerated variant of traditional fantasy sports that are conducted over short-term periods, such as a week or single day of competition, as opposed to those that are played across an entire season. Daily fantasy sports are typically structured in the form of paid competitions typically referred to as a "contest"; winners receive a share of a pre-determined pot funded by their entry fees. A portion of entry fee payments go to the provider as rake revenue.
I. Nelson Rose is an internationally known author and public speaker, and is recognized as one of the world's leading experts on gambling and gaming law. He is currently a Professor Emeritus at Whittier College and a Visiting Professor at the University of Macau. Rose is best known for his internationally syndicated column and 1986 book, Gambling and the Law. To further educate and inform on the subject, he also maintains a comprehensive website, "Gambling and the Law," which can be found at www.gamblingandthelaw.com.
Legal forms of gambling in the U.S. state of North Carolina include the North Carolina Education Lottery, three Indian casinos, charitable bingo and raffles, and low-stakes "beach bingo". North Carolina has long resisted expansion of gambling, owing to its conservative Bible Belt culture.
Legal forms of gambling in the U.S. state of Texas include the Texas Lottery; parimutuel wagering on horse and greyhound racing; limited charitable bingo, limited charitable raffles, and three Indian casinos. Other forms of gambling are illegal in Texas.
The California Grand Casino is a cardroom located in Pacheco, California. The original hotel and card room was a Pony Express stop in 1860. According to Card Player magazine, the California Grand Casino is the oldest continuously operating poker room in the world, with poker games since 1854.
Legal forms of gambling in the U.S. state of Massachusetts include casinos, sports betting, parimutuel wagering on horse racing, the Massachusetts Lottery, and charitable gaming. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission regulates commercial operations under state jurisdiction.
Legal forms of gambling in the U.S. state of Maine include parimutuel wagering on horse races, sports betting, the Maine Lottery, two casinos, and charitable gaming.
Legal forms of gambling in the U.S. state of Connecticut include two Indian casinos, parimutuel wagering, charitable gaming, the Connecticut Lottery, and sports betting.
The Gardens Casino is a cardroom casino located in Hawaiian Gardens, California. The casino was founded in 1997 and only offers card games. The casino started with a space of 59,900 square feet. In 2016, the casino underwent a $90 million renovation and expanded to 200,000 square feet.
Legal forms of gambling in the U.S. state of New Hampshire include the New Hampshire Lottery, sports betting, parimutuel wagering, and charitable gaming. The state's Gaming Regulatory Oversight Authority (GROA) is part of the New Hampshire Lottery Commission, which also maintains an Investigative & Compliance Division.