Online Poker Real Money California

California has long been a paradise for poker players. There are dozens of poker rooms operating around the state, and the list includes some of the largest venues in the world. So, it's understandably annoying that the Golden State can't get together on legal online poker.

1. Win Real Money Online Poker
2. Online Poker Real Money In California

BetOnline has held a gambling license from the country of Panama. Since it relocated there in 2004, and it is this that ensures all of your poker gameplay is done within a safe and fair environment. Because the platform is quite fluid in the types of online gambling that it provides, with players having the ability to access a sportsbook, casino, racebook, eSports and more alongside poker. Where is Online Poker Legal? NJ Online Poker. One of the first legal poker rooms in the Garden State was 888 Poker in 2013. WSOP also went online along with BetMGM to form two of. PA Online Poker.

However, California's size and unique relationship to gambling have created a situation with many stakeholders in conflict with one another. These groups are each powerful enough to stall out most forward progress on the issue.

As frustrating as it is, the plain truth is that there's no real momentum for online poker in California at this time. For the moment, the only option available to Californians is sweepstakes poker sites.

Real Money Deposits & Withdrawals. Download our software for free on your desktop or mobile device, then select any of the easy-to-use deposit options listed below for your country ($10 minimum deposit. California online poker legislative history. The illegality of online poker in California is largely enumerated by a single section in the California Penal Code.Section 330 of the Code declares that a person who. The world's largest real money online poker site opted to exit the U.S. Market back in 2011 after it was caught up in a well-publicized investigation by the U.S. Justice Department.

PlayCA is your one-stop-shop for all the latest on California's progress (or lack thereof) toward legal online poker. As developments occur, we will be sure to update you on what's happening, what's moving, and when you might be able to play real money poker online.

Play online poker in California at Global Poker

Sweepstakes poker

For right now, the only legal online poker option available in California is to play on sweepstakes poker sites. The top sweepstakes site active today is Global Poker, but let's start by discussing what a sweepstakes site is and how to spot one.

What are sweepstakes, and how do they work?

Everyone has played sweepstakes at one point or another. Whether it's the Monopoly game at McDonald's or the Publishers Clearing House giveaways, we have all played for the minute chance at great wealth or prizes. For most, it may seem doubtful that these sites are anything but scams.

However, the good news is that they must, by law, award their advertised prizes to be a legal entity in most US states. As hard as it may be to believe, someone in the U.S. is winning a boat by sticking game pieces to a board that they acquired in a drive-through. The PCH Prize Patrol does go around awarding people $7,000 per week for life.

So, the first absolute must for legal sweepstakes is that someone has to win the prize. The second concrete rule is that it must be possible to win the grand prize without spending a dime. Sweepstakes must maintain a path to the jackpot that does not involve any kind of purchase whatsoever.

That rule is why any sweepstakes you play will have the disclaimer that there is 'no purchase to play.' The organizers are not being generous, if they were to require any kind of payment, the sweepstakes would immediately become classified as a lottery, and would, therefore, be illegal in many states.

How does Global Poker work in CA?

Those two rules might seem to end the possibility of online poker play. However, sites like Global Poker have found a way to stay within compliance of the law to offer great poker action.

Since Global is the main sweepstakes poker site, we will discuss its specifics. However, be sure to look for similar rules at other sites, should you choose to play them. If there are no mechanisms designed to ensure compliance with the rules above, then the site is likely not kosher.

Global's first bit of compliance comes in the form of its dual-currency system. For the convertible cash on-site to be eligible for withdrawal and transition into actual dollars, it cannot be possible to buy the site's cash equivalent.

Instead, Global allows players to buy however much of its play currency as they wish. This currency is called Gold Coins, and neither has monetary value nor can be withdrawn from the site.

With most Gold Coin purchases, a player can also receive a quantity of the other currency, $weeps Coins, for free. This currency can be converted into a withdrawable instrument at the player's discretion. Both currencies are valid for playing Global Poker games, although never at the same time.

However, it is also necessary for Global Poker to have a pathway that requires no purchase whatsoever. So, it is possible to receive $weeps Coins by sending a handwritten request to the Global Poker corporate office. This request must be in your handwriting and verifiable as your request.

Once they receive and verify the request, they will put a small amount of $weeps Coins into your account onsite. These coins are ready for play at that point.

Why legal online poker in California is stuck in limbo

Of course, with all the news about gambling expansions in other states, Californians could justifiably be confused about why the state cannot get going with fully legal online poker. After all, neither poker nor gambling, in general, are taboo commodities in the Golden State. There are dozens of poker venues scattered across the land, and most of them have steady player bases.

Too many fingers in the pie

The problem is that there are four main groups of people who have a stake in any kind of gambling expansion in California. These four groups are often at odds with one another and cannot agree on how any expansion would work.

There have been legislative movements to expand online gambling in the state since 2008. All of them have failed because each major stakeholder (and its political influence) goes a different direction.

The first group that has to be in any discussion along these lines are the Native American tribes within the state. California's tribal interests earn billions of dollars annually from their land-based casinos.

These casinos are the only true venues of their kind in the state. The tribes vigorously defend both their exclusive right to offer the games that they do and their position at the table for any future gambling revenues. They argue that they have what amounts to a right of first refusal because of their sovereignty and compacts with the state.

Meanwhile, the California cardrooms feel as though they would be the natural stewards of online poker in the state. Given how much revenue they generate for their localities, it's an argument that cannot be immediately dismissed. For instance, 70% of the City of Commerce's tax revenue comes from Commerce Casino.

The state's horse tracks also want to have their piece of any new pie that comes about. Horse racing in California, as is the case in other states, is declining, and the state's industry has enough political clout to argue that it needs online poker to bolster its bottom lines and save the industry.

Finally, the state government itself, via the state lottery, might want to keep the management and resulting profits from online poker in-house, so to speak. Since other state lotteries often find themselves as the de facto regulators for gambling in the state, it's not outside the realm of possibility that the lottery would oversee online poker.

Lack of legislative precedent

Online poker expansion in California is also hurt by the fact that, for all of its cardrooms and activity, there isn't much in the way of laws, rules, and regulations overseeing the industry. The only major requirement for most cardroom venues in the state is that the games must generally be banked by players, rather than the rooms themselves.

However, cardrooms have found a way to sidestep this requirement and offer games that go far beyond poker itself. By employing proposition players, they have found a way to host all kinds of card-based games, including poker, baccarat, and pai gow poker.

The cardrooms have used this loophole for decades now without any real pushback from the government. Attempts to crack down have not yielded any measurable results

This is a problem for lawmakers because of how laws are typically written. Most bills build off the existing legal environment and seek to confine the change to a specific portion of the law. Because there is no law to change in California, lawmakers are fairly stuck.

A broad approach won't work, either. A law to address the loophole would, in the eyes of tribal interests, legitimize the existence of the loophole in the first place. Since tribal interests feel that they are the only legitimate gaming in the state, they have no interest in seeing a legislative affirmation for the activities of the cardrooms.

At the same time, legislators cannot simply close the loophole, either. The cardrooms are far too valuable as sources of tax revenue for their localities.

All the while, the cardrooms keep hiring prop players and spreading games, while the tribes offer their activities and fume about the cardrooms. It's a mess, and there's no clear way out.

Options available in Nevada

For the most part, Californians are relegated to playing on Global Poker or other sweepstakes sites if they want to play online. However, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the opportunity to the east of the state.

As it turns out, traditional gambling mecca Nevada also has online poker. Any Californian who wishes to slip across the state lines can take part in the Silver State's offerings if they choose.

The only site of note in Nevada is WSOP.com. The other site in the state, Real Gaming Online Poker, suffers from extremely low traffic and terrible instability in terms of maintaining active games.

As the online arm of the world-famous tournament brand, WSOP.com has great action, especially for tournaments, and even offers the opportunity to play for actual WSOP bracelets exclusively onsite.

However, it is necessary to travel across state lines to play. So, the feasibility of playing on a Nevada poker site will vary according to each Californian's living situation. But it bears mention as an option until California can get itself sorted out concerning online poker.

Online poker vs. live poker

Whether you are playing on Global Poker, another sweepstakes site, or have made the journey to Nevada to play, you need to know about some key differences between playing poker live and playing online.

Speed

The biggest difference between online and live poker is the sheer speed discrepancy. Online poker tables can sometimes deal more than 100 hands per hour, while the fastest live tables would probably only be able to manage 30 or so.

Part of the speed found online comes from the fact there is no live dealer. Also, you will find online is the use of a play clock. In most cases, you will have only a few seconds to make your decisions.

While it is possible to ask for more time, this feature is always limited and finite. By contrast, it is not uncommon to allow for some several-minute delays in live poker if a player has a big decision to make. Only a request from another player for a 'clock' can set a hard-and-fast time limit on a live player's decision.

Because the online game deals roughly three times the number of hands that a live game can, you will have three times as many hands to see and decisions to make. It's also important to realize that the dreaded moments of bad luck in poker (bad beats and coolers) will also happen far more often online.

This last bit is why there is perpetual grumbling in the poker community about players receiving unfair deals or playing in rigged games. However, given that the sites use random number generators to shuffle, the online game is fairer than its live counterpart. The truth is simply that more hands mean more chances for bad luck to occur.

Skill

The speed of the game and the increased number of hands has also had a profound effect on the level of play that you will find online. Because they get so much practice, online players at any given buy-in level are usually far more proficient than live players at the same level.

You should probably start at a lower level than you usually do when you first visit a site. A winning player at a particular blind level in live games could quickly find be chopped up by the increased competition if they play in the same game online.

Until you get used to the speed, pace of play, and overall proficiency of your competition, it is highly recommended that you take it easy to begin. Nothing is stopping you from moving up later on.

Multi-tabling

Finally, it's important to note that the physical realities of playing live mean that you can only play on a single table at any time. Online poker players do not suffer from a similar limitation, and many play in multiple games at once.

If you choose to play on multiple tables, realize that, along with the potential winnings, the potential for poor variance and losing also increases. If you have any reservations about or known leaks in your game, it's probably a good idea to hold off on playing multiple tables at once until you hammer out the rough spots.

Also, if you happen to notice that one or more of the players at your table are also playing elsewhere, it's a double-edged sword for you. On the one hand, they are likely to be distracted and/or unable to keep track of every detail in the game at hand.

However, multi-tablers who you often see tend to be pretty good players themselves. After all, they felt confident enough in their game to divide their attention.

Popular real money poker games

You can find many of your favorite poker games in online poker rooms. Most of the games from your childhood and friendly games are playable on poker sites.

There's no question that the most popular game in the world is no-limit Texas hold'em. Regardless of what online poker application you choose, you will be able to find an NLHE game, if nothing else.

Other popular poker games commonly found online include the following:

• Limit hold'em
• Pot-limit Omaha
• Limit Omaha
• Omaha Hi/Lo (Eight or Better)
• Stud

Some poker sites, like PokerStars, have even been known to unveil their games or variants. The mix of games depends on the site. Since Global Poker is the most likely choice for most Californians, there is a game that deserves an explanation.

Crazy Pineapple

Global Poker, the most prominent sweepstakes poker site, has three different games available for play onsite. Two of those games, no-limit Texas hold'em and pot-limit Omaha, are well-known commodities and are not uncommon.

However, the third game on the site, Crazy Pineapple, is a bit more esoteric for most poker players. So, if you're curious about playing this game, here's how it works.

Crazy Pineapple is a variant of Texas hold'em. Players compose their hands from a combination of hole cards and community cards, and there are four rounds of betting.

The key difference is that Crazy Pineapple begins with each player receiving three cards, rather than two. Then, after the round of preflop betting, the player must choose one of the three cards to discard before continuing in the hand.

In terms of strategy, more cards usually mean stronger hands are required to win. While not quite at the same level as Omaha, Crazy Pineapple will typically yield more possibilities for making a premium five-card hand.

If you have a chance, you might give Crazy Pineapple a try. It's a nice option, if for no other reason than as a palate cleanser from all those hands of hold'em.

Can California tribes offer online poker?

Californians might be curious about whether online poker could come to them differently. After all, with so many Native American tribes in the state and the tribes at the forefront of gambling in California, it would make sense that they might have a claim regarding the ability to offer online poker.

Unfortunately, the answer is no. The courts have ruled definitively that California tribes cannot proceed with online poker until the state does so as well.

The Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel attempted to push things forward in late 2014. The tribe opened a real-money bingo operation to measure the legal environment for expansion into online poker. They even went so far as to house the servers for the site on tribal lands and were careful to confine operations to that property.

As expected, the state quickly moved to enjoin the tribe from operating the site, declaring it in violation of California law. Needless to say, the tribe decided to fight the battle in court.

After four long years, the Ninth District Court of Appeals issued what is likely the final word on the matter in 2018. The site does violate California state law.

Now, a single glimmer of hope might be to argue that bingo and poker are different types of games. However, given the definitive answer the tribe received, it's unlikely to be worth pursuing any kind of victory on the semantics of the case.

The bottom line is that online poker remains illegal in the state of California for everyone, even those who might have an inside track to it.

Poker rooms in California

Live poker is legal in California. The Golden State now boasts some of the biggest and best poker rooms in the country. There are around 70 brick-and-mortar card rooms in California.

Commerce Casino

The Commerce Casino, in LA, is one of the biggest card rooms in the world. It houses more than 250 tables and hosts regular hold 'em, Omaha and Stud cash games and tournaments. The Commerce also offers blackjack and three-card poker tables.

The Commerce is a significant stop on the World Poker Tour, the WPT LA Poker Classic. The LA Poker Classic costs $10,000 to enter and regularly attracts some of the most prominent players in the world.

Bicycle Hotel & Casino

'The Bike' in BellGardens, is also one of the largest cardrooms in the world.

Its poker room is more than 100,000 square feet and features 185 tables spreading Texas Hold 'em, Omaha, 7-Card Stud and MexicanPoker.

The Bike is also a regular host for the World Poker Tour. The Legends of Poker event has been held at the Bike for years.

Bay 101 Casino

The Bay 101, in SanJose, has been operating since the 1920s.

The Bay 101 offers daily tournaments and cash games including Omaha Hi-Lo, No Limit Hold 'em and Stud.

The card room is also a host stop on the World Poker Tour. The Bay 101 Shooting Star takes place at the poker room every March and costs more than $5,000 to enter.

Full list of poker rooms in California

California online poker legislative history

The illegality of online poker in California is largely enumerated by a single section in the California Penal Code. Section 330 of the Code declares that a person who involves themselves with 'any banking or percentage game played with cards' (among other things) is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to criminal sanction.

For more than a decade, California lawmakers submitted bills to legalize online poker every single year. Capturing the history of every single bill's ultimate demise would be both onerous and depressing.

There were at least 15 different bills put into the legislative process over the years that would have allowed for online poker in the state. All of them have failed.

In the past few years, it has seemed as though the fervor to pass such a law has waned. Quite frankly, the eyes of most legislatures are on sports betting now, because of its new legality and greater potential for profit.

At this point, it's probably unlikely that online poker will come to California before sports betting. Since the timeframe for the latter's debut remains completely unclear, the launch of online poker in California must reside in the same category for now.

Federal gambling regulations

California card rooms and tribal casinos can't launch online poker rooms because of the federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, or UIGEA. The UIGEA was put on the books in 2006 and prohibits American businesses from knowingly processing payments for any wagers placed over the internet.

The UIGEA doesn't apply to licensed companies operating in states that explicitly legalized internet gambling, which is why Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware are allowed to run online poker sites with this law still in effect.

Numerous California Assemblymen and Senators, such as Roderick Wright, Lou Correa, Lloyd Levine, Mike Gatto, Adam Gray, Isadore Hall, and Reggie Jones-Sawyer, have tried pushing for similar regulations to be introduced in the Golden State since 2008, but none of their proposals have gained enough support to make it to the governor's desk.

Native American online poker

In November 2014, the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel tribe tried to take matters into its own hands. The tribe launched a real-money bingo site called Desert Rose Bingo in an attempt to test the UIGEA prohibition and potentially lay the groundwork for a future Native American internet poker project.

The servers that powered the site were located within the reservation, and the tribe maintained that it had the right to offer its gambling products online because the compact signed with the state authorized it to offer Class II games on tribal land.

The government immediately filed an injunction, forcing the site to be temporarily shut down. The legal battle lasted four years, and in 2018, the Ninth District Court of Appeals ruled that the operation was illegal.

The judge agreed with the tribe regarding its jurisdiction over gambling on Indian land but noted that the act of placing a wager took place elsewhere on the territory of California, constituting a violation of the UIGEA.

This ruling proved without a shadow of a doubt that even the Native Californian tribes would not be able to launch legal poker sites without statewide legalization.

California Penal Code

Over the years, California poker players became discouraged with the lack of progress on the legislative front, and many turned to offshore poker platforms to get their internet poker fix. After all, these platforms can't be shut down by the government as they are typically based in places like Panama or Antigua.

In the world of offshore gaming, the UIGEA doesn't prevent you from enjoying the game; it merely inconveniences you when you try to make a deposit.

Unfortunately, the legality of playing on offshore sites is a contentious issue. Section 330 of the California Penal Code states that participating in any banking or percentage game constitutes a misdemeanor and is punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

However, experts on gambling law can't seem to agree on whether online poker offered by offshore platforms can be classified as a banking or percentage game. Pondering the technicalities of this issue should probably be left to people like Chuck Humphrey or Nelson Rose – we just want to emphasize that determining whether an online player can be punished if caught is impossible without precedent.

California online poker history

2018

As expected, 2018 was not the year for California online poker. For the first time in a decade, no poker-related proposals were put forward during the legislative session. The national gambling debate shifted to sports betting after SCOTUS overturned the federal PASPA ban in May.

Unfortunately, California needs to amend its constitution before its lawmakers can start working on a bookmaking bill. Assemblyman Adam Gray proposed putting this issue on the November 2018 ballot, but his initiative didn't gain enough support before the elections.

As a result, Californians won't get to vote on sports betting legalization until November 2020. If the online poker camp decides to stick to Jones-Sawyer's plan and pair its new bill with this issue, 2019 will be another year in which we won't see any meaningful legislative action.

On the judicial front, the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel tribe lost the Desert Rose Bingo case in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The online bingo operation that was supposed to pave the way for tribal internet poker was deemed illegal. The court dismissed the argument that all servers were located on tribal land and based its decision on the fact that the act of betting occurred elsewhere.

2017

California Assemblymember Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer introduced AB 1677in February 2017. The goal of the bill was to legalize and regulate online poker in California. No wording in the bill even addressed the operator suitability issue. It looked like an attempt to start over.

Two months later, with no real movement on the bill, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians withdrew from its alliance with PokerStars.

California legislators never even got around to discussing online poker and when last day for the State Senate or Assembly to pass bills came on Sept. 15, California online poker was dead again.

2016

In 2016, California came closer to passing legislation that would legalize and regulate online poker than it ever has before. Yet still, by the time the state's legislative session ended in August, no bill had passed.

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As it had been in the past, the biggest stumbling block for online poker legislation in the state in 2016 was operator suitability.

A tribal coalition led by Pechanga and Agua Caliente was pushing for a 10-year ban against PokerStars and parent company Amaya. PokerStars itself, alongside in-state partners like the Morongo and San Manuel tribes and Commerce, Bicycle and Hawaiian Gardens cardrooms, wanted regulators to make the decision, but appeared willing to accept a five-year penalty or $20 million payment in lieu of it.

In June, an online poker bill passed through the State Assembly's Appropriations Committee. It was the furthest an online poker bill had ever gone in California. Then-Assemblyman Adam Gray, author of the bill, introduced amendments supporting a five-year ban for persons that took bets in California after Dec. 31, 2006. Depending on how the language in the amendments was interpreted, it may have also included a lifetime ban for operators that did the same.

Neither side seems happy with it. PokerStars went from calling the tribal coalition obstructionists, to standing in the way of the online poker bill itself.

The bill never made it through Assembly, Senate, or came anywhere close to making it to the Governor's desk.

The year 2016 started with the Horse Racing industry, Tribal casinos, and online poker operators all on different sides of the online poker issue in California. It ended much the same way.

2015

In many ways, 2015 is similar to the story of 2014, with the notable difference that political attention to the issue of online poker began earlier in the year and appears to have greater force behind it.

There are currently two primary competing visions for online poker in California – AB 9 and AB 167 – both of which sit with the Governmental Organization Committee in the Assembly.

There is an additional legislative vehicle for online poker in the Assembly: AB 431, sponsored by Assemblyman Adam Gray and co-authored by State Sen. Isadore Hall. AB 431 is currently a 'shell' bill, meaning it contains little in the way of actual details or language.

You can read more about and track each bill using California's online legislative information system.

As in past years, the key divisions revolve around who is eligible for licensure as an online poker operator.

2014

In February 2014, two online poker bills were announced. SB 1366would allow online poker only. It included a bad actor clause that would forbid any company from operating in the state if it took action from U.S. players after December 31, 2006.

AB 2291 was a similar bill. One difference is that the bad actor clause was left open for future debate.

On April 23, 2014, the California Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization held a hearing to discuss online poker. Topics included the history of online poker in the U.S., testimony from executives involved in the regulated industry, as well as views from tribal and commercial gaming companies.

The hearing appeared to be a positive for the online poker industry. One opponent of gambling in general was cut off from his speech. Andy Abboud, VP of Government Affairs for Las Vegas Sands, had his company's motives questioned by the committee. All members of the committee that spoke appeared to be educated about the online poker industry.

Prior to 2014

Online poker has been an issue in California for nearly a decade at this point. The state has seen numerous bills prior to the handful currently circulating in Sacramento.

Six bills in the past had been introduced but failed to pass in the California Legislature. Those bills were the Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2013, SB 51, SB 678, SB 1463, SB 40 and SB 45. These bills would have legalized, regulated and taxed online poker in California.

California is both the most populous state and the state with the most poker rooms. In fact, America's favorite card game has a long, storied history in the Golden State. It reaches back to the mid-19th century gold rush, an era of gaming dens, and continues through the famous Gardena card clubs of the 20th century and the explosion of card rooms following the state's legalization of Texas Hold 'em poker and stud in the 1980s.

With nearly 40 million residents and a huge number of poker players among them, California has long been looked upon by online poker proponents as an obvious and attractive choice for legalization. However, despite the numerous bills proposed by lawmakers since the late 2000s, an inability to satisfy the priorities of rival factions, including the state's multiple tribes with gaming interests, has prevented legal online poker in California.

What follows is an overview of California poker. We start with a short synopsis of the current debate on real money online poker in California. Then we cover the consideration of alternatives like sweepstakes poker and offshore poker sites. We continue with a review of current California poker laws, including what is OK when it comes to home poker games. Next, we share a comprehensive list of the state's many card rooms and a detailed timeline of poker in the CA, including online poker legislation. Lastly, we look ahead to the possible future of online poker in California.

Global Poker offers online poker in California

Is online poker legal in California?

How to play poker well. No, real money online poker is not legal in California; however, that's not due to a lack of trying.

There is a long list of California lawmakers who have introduced bills that, if passed, would legalize online poker in the state (see below, 'California poker timeline'), with such efforts dating back more than a decade.

An attempt was made in 2014 when the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabeltribe tried a different path by attempting to launch real-money online gambling on its own. The tribe is one of the more than 100 federally recognized Native American tribes in the state. The federal government filed an injunction, and the site was shut down. After a lengthy legal battle, the Ninth District Court of Appeals in December 2016 ruled the poker site to violate the UIGEA for allowing access to those not located on the reservation.

That ruling made it clear that tribes in the state would not be able to launch online poker rooms without some sort of statewide legislation. Alas, California lawmakers have been unable to reach that milestone.

Will California regulate online poker?

The push to legalize and regulate online poker in CA has recently slowed as attention has shifted to the possibility of introducing online sports betting.

In May 2018, the US Supreme Court removed the federal prohibition against states other than Nevada offering sports betting. By the following year, California lawmakers began holding hearings to consider the viability of bringing legal sports betting to CA, including online sports betting.

Like other states, however, the legal environment for gambling in California is complicated significantly by the competing interests of the state's commercial gambling properties and its many tribal casinos. That same conflict has presented obstacles in the past for those who have previously tried to legalize online gambling, including online poker. No doubt that it will continue to be the case going forward when the issue arises again.

The California Bureau of Gambling Control currently regulates gambling in the state and would potentially serve as the regulatory agency overseeing online poker if it became legal. The California Gambling Control Commission also plays a vital role in licensing card rooms and casinos within the state. Both of these state agencies work together with California tribes to regulate gaming on tribal lands as well.

How to play online poker in California & sweepstakes sites

With no real money online poker available, players in California do have an alternative in sweepstakes online poker sites. The most popular example is Global Poker, a site that legally welcomes players from every state, aside from Washington.

Rather than play with cash, those who play on sweepstakes sites do so with virtual money. In the case of Global Poker, there are two different virtual currencies: 'gold coins' and 'sweeps coins.' Players can purchase the gold coins to play cash games and tournaments. When buying gold coins, players also receive sweeps coins as a bonus, which they can use to play specific cash games and tournaments.

Players can purchase sweeps coins other ways as well, including through Facebook giveaways or by writing to Global Poker and requesting them. Players can also win more sweeps coins in the cash games and tournaments. Once they've accumulated a minimum amount, players can exchange them for dollars that can be redeemed.

What about offshore poker sites? Are they safe?

Some poker players choose to play online poker in CA on 'offshore' sites located outside of the US that permit Americans to play. Are players who play on these sites breaking the law? That's a question that gambling law experts continue to debate.

The California Penal Code includes a section on illegal gambling that specifically prohibits games 'with cards, dice, or any device, for money, checks, credit or other representative of value.'

Win Real Money Online Poker

The section goes on to say that anyone doing so is committing a misdemeanor and can be fined between $100 and $1,000 and imprisoned for up to six months. While no players in California have ever faced such penalties for playing on offshore online poker sites, they are, nonetheless, still taking risks by doing so. Since such sites are not regulated in the US, they don't necessarily have to adhere to measures like fraud prevention and ensuring the security of players' funds the way legal, regulated US sites do.

Online Poker Real Money In California

In fact, there have been instances of such sites closing and making off with players' money, and in which case, the players don't have legal recourse to help them recover their funds.

Players who use such offshore poker sites and suspect cheating, collusion, ghosting, multi-accounting, or other issues affecting game integrity simply have to trust the sites will respond to their complaints and take appropriate action. That's because if the sites don't, there's little the players can do about it.

California poker laws

While online poker is not legal in California, live poker in brick-and-mortar card rooms is legal in the state, with players fortunate to have more card rooms to choose from than in any other state.

Charitable, nonprofit organizations are also allowed to host 'poker nights' along with bingo games and raffles, but only once per year.

In December 2019, the California Bureau of Gambling Control proposed new rules for the state's card rooms. However, many CA card room operators objected, saying the new rules would have a negative impact on their businesses and even force some rooms to close.

Because of the compacts between the state and its tribes, Native American-run casinos have the exclusive right to offer 'house-banked' games. As a result, commercial card rooms must employ someone other than the dealer to act as the 'banker' (or the 'house Can i withdraw bonus bet winnings for a. '). This person represents a licensed third-party business since the rooms aren't technically allowed to have a financial stake in the games. The banker collects from the losers, pays the winners and takes a fee from each of the players.

The new rules being proposed would do away with the third-party banker and force the players to take turns performing that role. Players refusing to do so would not be allowed to participate, and if no one wants to be the banker, the game would have to stop. The card rooms are understandably unhappy with the idea of instituting such an arrangement, pointing out how playing the games will become more complicated and that many players will be loathed to have to take on the banker's role.

More hearings will need to be held as well as a study conducted measuring the financial impact should the new rules be adopted.

Are home poker games legal in California?

Yes, home poker games are legal in California, as long as the host of the game doesn't take a rake from the pots or require any sort of fee from the players.

The California Penal Code is quite clear in the way it describes home poker games as excluded from 'controlled games' for which operators need licenses. The law states that a 'controlled game' does not include 'games played in cards in private homes or residences, in which no person makes money for operating the game, except as a player.'

California card rooms

California has more places to play poker than does any other state in the country. There are around 100 rooms, ranging from tiny two-table establishments tucked away in strip malls to massive 200-plus table poker palaces like The Commerce in Los Angeles and The Bicycle nearby in Bell Gardens.

The small rooms generally only spread low limit ($1/$2) no-limit hold'em, whereas the medium and larger rooms also feature other variants like pot-limit Omaha, seven-card stud and different mixed game formats. All but the smallest rooms host regular daily and/or weekly tournaments, while the largest venues are often the site of major tournament series such as the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker Circuit.

Finally, it's important to note that the physical realities of playing live mean that you can only play on a single table at any time. Online poker players do not suffer from a similar limitation, and many play in multiple games at once.

If you choose to play on multiple tables, realize that, along with the potential winnings, the potential for poor variance and losing also increases. If you have any reservations about or known leaks in your game, it's probably a good idea to hold off on playing multiple tables at once until you hammer out the rough spots.

Also, if you happen to notice that one or more of the players at your table are also playing elsewhere, it's a double-edged sword for you. On the one hand, they are likely to be distracted and/or unable to keep track of every detail in the game at hand.

However, multi-tablers who you often see tend to be pretty good players themselves. After all, they felt confident enough in their game to divide their attention.

Popular real money poker games

You can find many of your favorite poker games in online poker rooms. Most of the games from your childhood and friendly games are playable on poker sites.

There's no question that the most popular game in the world is no-limit Texas hold'em. Regardless of what online poker application you choose, you will be able to find an NLHE game, if nothing else.

Other popular poker games commonly found online include the following:

• Limit hold'em
• Pot-limit Omaha
• Limit Omaha
• Omaha Hi/Lo (Eight or Better)
• Stud

Some poker sites, like PokerStars, have even been known to unveil their games or variants. The mix of games depends on the site. Since Global Poker is the most likely choice for most Californians, there is a game that deserves an explanation.

Crazy Pineapple

Global Poker, the most prominent sweepstakes poker site, has three different games available for play onsite. Two of those games, no-limit Texas hold'em and pot-limit Omaha, are well-known commodities and are not uncommon.

However, the third game on the site, Crazy Pineapple, is a bit more esoteric for most poker players. So, if you're curious about playing this game, here's how it works.

Crazy Pineapple is a variant of Texas hold'em. Players compose their hands from a combination of hole cards and community cards, and there are four rounds of betting.

The key difference is that Crazy Pineapple begins with each player receiving three cards, rather than two. Then, after the round of preflop betting, the player must choose one of the three cards to discard before continuing in the hand.

In terms of strategy, more cards usually mean stronger hands are required to win. While not quite at the same level as Omaha, Crazy Pineapple will typically yield more possibilities for making a premium five-card hand.

If you have a chance, you might give Crazy Pineapple a try. It's a nice option, if for no other reason than as a palate cleanser from all those hands of hold'em.

Can California tribes offer online poker?

Californians might be curious about whether online poker could come to them differently. After all, with so many Native American tribes in the state and the tribes at the forefront of gambling in California, it would make sense that they might have a claim regarding the ability to offer online poker.

Unfortunately, the answer is no. The courts have ruled definitively that California tribes cannot proceed with online poker until the state does so as well.

The Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel attempted to push things forward in late 2014. The tribe opened a real-money bingo operation to measure the legal environment for expansion into online poker. They even went so far as to house the servers for the site on tribal lands and were careful to confine operations to that property.

As expected, the state quickly moved to enjoin the tribe from operating the site, declaring it in violation of California law. Needless to say, the tribe decided to fight the battle in court.

After four long years, the Ninth District Court of Appeals issued what is likely the final word on the matter in 2018. The site does violate California state law.

Now, a single glimmer of hope might be to argue that bingo and poker are different types of games. However, given the definitive answer the tribe received, it's unlikely to be worth pursuing any kind of victory on the semantics of the case.

The bottom line is that online poker remains illegal in the state of California for everyone, even those who might have an inside track to it.

Poker rooms in California

Live poker is legal in California. The Golden State now boasts some of the biggest and best poker rooms in the country. There are around 70 brick-and-mortar card rooms in California.

Commerce Casino

The Commerce Casino, in LA, is one of the biggest card rooms in the world. It houses more than 250 tables and hosts regular hold 'em, Omaha and Stud cash games and tournaments. The Commerce also offers blackjack and three-card poker tables.

The Commerce is a significant stop on the World Poker Tour, the WPT LA Poker Classic. The LA Poker Classic costs $10,000 to enter and regularly attracts some of the most prominent players in the world.

Bicycle Hotel & Casino

'The Bike' in BellGardens, is also one of the largest cardrooms in the world.

Its poker room is more than 100,000 square feet and features 185 tables spreading Texas Hold 'em, Omaha, 7-Card Stud and MexicanPoker.

The Bike is also a regular host for the World Poker Tour. The Legends of Poker event has been held at the Bike for years.

Bay 101 Casino

The Bay 101, in SanJose, has been operating since the 1920s.

The Bay 101 offers daily tournaments and cash games including Omaha Hi-Lo, No Limit Hold 'em and Stud.

The card room is also a host stop on the World Poker Tour. The Bay 101 Shooting Star takes place at the poker room every March and costs more than $5,000 to enter.

Full list of poker rooms in California

California online poker legislative history

The illegality of online poker in California is largely enumerated by a single section in the California Penal Code. Section 330 of the Code declares that a person who involves themselves with 'any banking or percentage game played with cards' (among other things) is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to criminal sanction.

For more than a decade, California lawmakers submitted bills to legalize online poker every single year. Capturing the history of every single bill's ultimate demise would be both onerous and depressing.

There were at least 15 different bills put into the legislative process over the years that would have allowed for online poker in the state. All of them have failed.

In the past few years, it has seemed as though the fervor to pass such a law has waned. Quite frankly, the eyes of most legislatures are on sports betting now, because of its new legality and greater potential for profit.

At this point, it's probably unlikely that online poker will come to California before sports betting. Since the timeframe for the latter's debut remains completely unclear, the launch of online poker in California must reside in the same category for now.

Federal gambling regulations

California card rooms and tribal casinos can't launch online poker rooms because of the federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, or UIGEA. The UIGEA was put on the books in 2006 and prohibits American businesses from knowingly processing payments for any wagers placed over the internet.

The UIGEA doesn't apply to licensed companies operating in states that explicitly legalized internet gambling, which is why Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware are allowed to run online poker sites with this law still in effect.

Numerous California Assemblymen and Senators, such as Roderick Wright, Lou Correa, Lloyd Levine, Mike Gatto, Adam Gray, Isadore Hall, and Reggie Jones-Sawyer, have tried pushing for similar regulations to be introduced in the Golden State since 2008, but none of their proposals have gained enough support to make it to the governor's desk.

Native American online poker

In November 2014, the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel tribe tried to take matters into its own hands. The tribe launched a real-money bingo site called Desert Rose Bingo in an attempt to test the UIGEA prohibition and potentially lay the groundwork for a future Native American internet poker project.

The servers that powered the site were located within the reservation, and the tribe maintained that it had the right to offer its gambling products online because the compact signed with the state authorized it to offer Class II games on tribal land.

The government immediately filed an injunction, forcing the site to be temporarily shut down. The legal battle lasted four years, and in 2018, the Ninth District Court of Appeals ruled that the operation was illegal.

The judge agreed with the tribe regarding its jurisdiction over gambling on Indian land but noted that the act of placing a wager took place elsewhere on the territory of California, constituting a violation of the UIGEA.

This ruling proved without a shadow of a doubt that even the Native Californian tribes would not be able to launch legal poker sites without statewide legalization.

California Penal Code

Over the years, California poker players became discouraged with the lack of progress on the legislative front, and many turned to offshore poker platforms to get their internet poker fix. After all, these platforms can't be shut down by the government as they are typically based in places like Panama or Antigua.

In the world of offshore gaming, the UIGEA doesn't prevent you from enjoying the game; it merely inconveniences you when you try to make a deposit.

Unfortunately, the legality of playing on offshore sites is a contentious issue. Section 330 of the California Penal Code states that participating in any banking or percentage game constitutes a misdemeanor and is punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

However, experts on gambling law can't seem to agree on whether online poker offered by offshore platforms can be classified as a banking or percentage game. Pondering the technicalities of this issue should probably be left to people like Chuck Humphrey or Nelson Rose – we just want to emphasize that determining whether an online player can be punished if caught is impossible without precedent.

California online poker history

2018

As expected, 2018 was not the year for California online poker. For the first time in a decade, no poker-related proposals were put forward during the legislative session. The national gambling debate shifted to sports betting after SCOTUS overturned the federal PASPA ban in May.

Unfortunately, California needs to amend its constitution before its lawmakers can start working on a bookmaking bill. Assemblyman Adam Gray proposed putting this issue on the November 2018 ballot, but his initiative didn't gain enough support before the elections.

As a result, Californians won't get to vote on sports betting legalization until November 2020. If the online poker camp decides to stick to Jones-Sawyer's plan and pair its new bill with this issue, 2019 will be another year in which we won't see any meaningful legislative action.

On the judicial front, the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel tribe lost the Desert Rose Bingo case in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The online bingo operation that was supposed to pave the way for tribal internet poker was deemed illegal. The court dismissed the argument that all servers were located on tribal land and based its decision on the fact that the act of betting occurred elsewhere.

2017

California Assemblymember Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer introduced AB 1677in February 2017. The goal of the bill was to legalize and regulate online poker in California. No wording in the bill even addressed the operator suitability issue. It looked like an attempt to start over.

Two months later, with no real movement on the bill, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians withdrew from its alliance with PokerStars.

California legislators never even got around to discussing online poker and when last day for the State Senate or Assembly to pass bills came on Sept. 15, California online poker was dead again.

2016

In 2016, California came closer to passing legislation that would legalize and regulate online poker than it ever has before. Yet still, by the time the state's legislative session ended in August, no bill had passed.

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As it had been in the past, the biggest stumbling block for online poker legislation in the state in 2016 was operator suitability.

A tribal coalition led by Pechanga and Agua Caliente was pushing for a 10-year ban against PokerStars and parent company Amaya. PokerStars itself, alongside in-state partners like the Morongo and San Manuel tribes and Commerce, Bicycle and Hawaiian Gardens cardrooms, wanted regulators to make the decision, but appeared willing to accept a five-year penalty or $20 million payment in lieu of it.

In June, an online poker bill passed through the State Assembly's Appropriations Committee. It was the furthest an online poker bill had ever gone in California. Then-Assemblyman Adam Gray, author of the bill, introduced amendments supporting a five-year ban for persons that took bets in California after Dec. 31, 2006. Depending on how the language in the amendments was interpreted, it may have also included a lifetime ban for operators that did the same.

Neither side seems happy with it. PokerStars went from calling the tribal coalition obstructionists, to standing in the way of the online poker bill itself.

The bill never made it through Assembly, Senate, or came anywhere close to making it to the Governor's desk.

The year 2016 started with the Horse Racing industry, Tribal casinos, and online poker operators all on different sides of the online poker issue in California. It ended much the same way.

2015

In many ways, 2015 is similar to the story of 2014, with the notable difference that political attention to the issue of online poker began earlier in the year and appears to have greater force behind it.

There are currently two primary competing visions for online poker in California – AB 9 and AB 167 – both of which sit with the Governmental Organization Committee in the Assembly.

There is an additional legislative vehicle for online poker in the Assembly: AB 431, sponsored by Assemblyman Adam Gray and co-authored by State Sen. Isadore Hall. AB 431 is currently a 'shell' bill, meaning it contains little in the way of actual details or language.

You can read more about and track each bill using California's online legislative information system.

As in past years, the key divisions revolve around who is eligible for licensure as an online poker operator.

2014

In February 2014, two online poker bills were announced. SB 1366would allow online poker only. It included a bad actor clause that would forbid any company from operating in the state if it took action from U.S. players after December 31, 2006.

AB 2291 was a similar bill. One difference is that the bad actor clause was left open for future debate.

On April 23, 2014, the California Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization held a hearing to discuss online poker. Topics included the history of online poker in the U.S., testimony from executives involved in the regulated industry, as well as views from tribal and commercial gaming companies.

The hearing appeared to be a positive for the online poker industry. One opponent of gambling in general was cut off from his speech. Andy Abboud, VP of Government Affairs for Las Vegas Sands, had his company's motives questioned by the committee. All members of the committee that spoke appeared to be educated about the online poker industry.

Prior to 2014

Online poker has been an issue in California for nearly a decade at this point. The state has seen numerous bills prior to the handful currently circulating in Sacramento.

Six bills in the past had been introduced but failed to pass in the California Legislature. Those bills were the Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2013, SB 51, SB 678, SB 1463, SB 40 and SB 45. These bills would have legalized, regulated and taxed online poker in California.

California is both the most populous state and the state with the most poker rooms. In fact, America's favorite card game has a long, storied history in the Golden State. It reaches back to the mid-19th century gold rush, an era of gaming dens, and continues through the famous Gardena card clubs of the 20th century and the explosion of card rooms following the state's legalization of Texas Hold 'em poker and stud in the 1980s.

With nearly 40 million residents and a huge number of poker players among them, California has long been looked upon by online poker proponents as an obvious and attractive choice for legalization. However, despite the numerous bills proposed by lawmakers since the late 2000s, an inability to satisfy the priorities of rival factions, including the state's multiple tribes with gaming interests, has prevented legal online poker in California.

What follows is an overview of California poker. We start with a short synopsis of the current debate on real money online poker in California. Then we cover the consideration of alternatives like sweepstakes poker and offshore poker sites. We continue with a review of current California poker laws, including what is OK when it comes to home poker games. Next, we share a comprehensive list of the state's many card rooms and a detailed timeline of poker in the CA, including online poker legislation. Lastly, we look ahead to the possible future of online poker in California.

Global Poker offers online poker in California

Is online poker legal in California?

How to play poker well. No, real money online poker is not legal in California; however, that's not due to a lack of trying.

There is a long list of California lawmakers who have introduced bills that, if passed, would legalize online poker in the state (see below, 'California poker timeline'), with such efforts dating back more than a decade.

An attempt was made in 2014 when the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabeltribe tried a different path by attempting to launch real-money online gambling on its own. The tribe is one of the more than 100 federally recognized Native American tribes in the state. The federal government filed an injunction, and the site was shut down. After a lengthy legal battle, the Ninth District Court of Appeals in December 2016 ruled the poker site to violate the UIGEA for allowing access to those not located on the reservation.

That ruling made it clear that tribes in the state would not be able to launch online poker rooms without some sort of statewide legislation. Alas, California lawmakers have been unable to reach that milestone.

Will California regulate online poker?

The push to legalize and regulate online poker in CA has recently slowed as attention has shifted to the possibility of introducing online sports betting.

In May 2018, the US Supreme Court removed the federal prohibition against states other than Nevada offering sports betting. By the following year, California lawmakers began holding hearings to consider the viability of bringing legal sports betting to CA, including online sports betting.

Like other states, however, the legal environment for gambling in California is complicated significantly by the competing interests of the state's commercial gambling properties and its many tribal casinos. That same conflict has presented obstacles in the past for those who have previously tried to legalize online gambling, including online poker. No doubt that it will continue to be the case going forward when the issue arises again.

The California Bureau of Gambling Control currently regulates gambling in the state and would potentially serve as the regulatory agency overseeing online poker if it became legal. The California Gambling Control Commission also plays a vital role in licensing card rooms and casinos within the state. Both of these state agencies work together with California tribes to regulate gaming on tribal lands as well.

How to play online poker in California & sweepstakes sites

With no real money online poker available, players in California do have an alternative in sweepstakes online poker sites. The most popular example is Global Poker, a site that legally welcomes players from every state, aside from Washington.

Rather than play with cash, those who play on sweepstakes sites do so with virtual money. In the case of Global Poker, there are two different virtual currencies: 'gold coins' and 'sweeps coins.' Players can purchase the gold coins to play cash games and tournaments. When buying gold coins, players also receive sweeps coins as a bonus, which they can use to play specific cash games and tournaments.

Players can purchase sweeps coins other ways as well, including through Facebook giveaways or by writing to Global Poker and requesting them. Players can also win more sweeps coins in the cash games and tournaments. Once they've accumulated a minimum amount, players can exchange them for dollars that can be redeemed.

What about offshore poker sites? Are they safe?

Some poker players choose to play online poker in CA on 'offshore' sites located outside of the US that permit Americans to play. Are players who play on these sites breaking the law? That's a question that gambling law experts continue to debate.

The California Penal Code includes a section on illegal gambling that specifically prohibits games 'with cards, dice, or any device, for money, checks, credit or other representative of value.'

Win Real Money Online Poker

The section goes on to say that anyone doing so is committing a misdemeanor and can be fined between $100 and $1,000 and imprisoned for up to six months. While no players in California have ever faced such penalties for playing on offshore online poker sites, they are, nonetheless, still taking risks by doing so. Since such sites are not regulated in the US, they don't necessarily have to adhere to measures like fraud prevention and ensuring the security of players' funds the way legal, regulated US sites do.

Online Poker Real Money In California

In fact, there have been instances of such sites closing and making off with players' money, and in which case, the players don't have legal recourse to help them recover their funds.

Players who use such offshore poker sites and suspect cheating, collusion, ghosting, multi-accounting, or other issues affecting game integrity simply have to trust the sites will respond to their complaints and take appropriate action. That's because if the sites don't, there's little the players can do about it.

California poker laws

While online poker is not legal in California, live poker in brick-and-mortar card rooms is legal in the state, with players fortunate to have more card rooms to choose from than in any other state.

Charitable, nonprofit organizations are also allowed to host 'poker nights' along with bingo games and raffles, but only once per year.

In December 2019, the California Bureau of Gambling Control proposed new rules for the state's card rooms. However, many CA card room operators objected, saying the new rules would have a negative impact on their businesses and even force some rooms to close.

Because of the compacts between the state and its tribes, Native American-run casinos have the exclusive right to offer 'house-banked' games. As a result, commercial card rooms must employ someone other than the dealer to act as the 'banker' (or the 'house Can i withdraw bonus bet winnings for a. '). This person represents a licensed third-party business since the rooms aren't technically allowed to have a financial stake in the games. The banker collects from the losers, pays the winners and takes a fee from each of the players.

The new rules being proposed would do away with the third-party banker and force the players to take turns performing that role. Players refusing to do so would not be allowed to participate, and if no one wants to be the banker, the game would have to stop. The card rooms are understandably unhappy with the idea of instituting such an arrangement, pointing out how playing the games will become more complicated and that many players will be loathed to have to take on the banker's role.

More hearings will need to be held as well as a study conducted measuring the financial impact should the new rules be adopted.

Are home poker games legal in California?

Yes, home poker games are legal in California, as long as the host of the game doesn't take a rake from the pots or require any sort of fee from the players.

The California Penal Code is quite clear in the way it describes home poker games as excluded from 'controlled games' for which operators need licenses. The law states that a 'controlled game' does not include 'games played in cards in private homes or residences, in which no person makes money for operating the game, except as a player.'

California card rooms

California has more places to play poker than does any other state in the country. There are around 100 rooms, ranging from tiny two-table establishments tucked away in strip malls to massive 200-plus table poker palaces like The Commerce in Los Angeles and The Bicycle nearby in Bell Gardens.

The small rooms generally only spread low limit ($1/$2) no-limit hold'em, whereas the medium and larger rooms also feature other variants like pot-limit Omaha, seven-card stud and different mixed game formats. All but the smallest rooms host regular daily and/or weekly tournaments, while the largest venues are often the site of major tournament series such as the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker Circuit.

California poker timeline

During the gold rush of the mid-19th century and afterward, hundreds of gaming houses were in operation up and down California, with poker among the most popular gambling games.

During the century's later decades, prohibitions in various locations led to the closure of many houses, although stud poker continued to be especially popular. That led to more explicit laws against what was described as 'stud-horse poker,' and it was that specific targeting of stud that later provided a kind of legal loophole for California card games.

Birth of the California card club

In 1931, Nevada legalized gambling and, over the subsequent years, game the eventual building of casinos and card rooms. A little later in 1936, in California, a businessman named Ernie Primm opened a gambling club in tiny Gardena (not far from Los Angeles), where draw poker was a featured game.

There was a legal challenge, but Primm was able to point back to the earlier law that outlawed stud but said nothing about draw poker. The law specified that draw poker card rooms, like Primm's, could operate as long as the community did not object, and thus over the following years, Primm and others opened more card rooms in Gardena, all of which again spread only draw poker.

The legal battles never really ceased, but over the middle decades of the 20th century, and to the start of the 1980s, Gardena became known throughout the country as the only legal alternative to Las Vegas and other rooms in Nevada for poker. The small city advertised itself as the 'Poker Capital of the World,' and it wasn't a total exaggeration.

Hold'em and stud made legal; poker explodes in popularity

The situation began to change in the 1980s when other communities started legalizing poker themselves, thus taking away Gardena's special status.

By then, Texas Hold'em had started to become better-known thanks to the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. California lawmakers interestingly argued over hold'em's legality in part by raising the question of whether hold'em was a variant of draw poker (and legal to play) or a variant of stud poker (and, therefore, prohibited).

Finally, in 1987, both Los Angeles and Santa Cruz counties settled the issue by legalizing stud and Texas Hold'em, a development that heralded the introduction of Vegas-style poker rooms to replace the smaller card clubs in terms of popularity. Soon those variants were made legal throughout the state as well.

The state's first Native American casinos opened shortly thereafter, and by the time of the 'poker room' of the mid-2000s, there were already about 100 legal card rooms operating in the state.

Early online poker battles

By the late 2000s, California lawmakers began introducing online poker legislation regularly. While the bills generated a lot of interest and hope among the state's many poker players, none managed to garner enough support to move up the legislative ladder.

It was in early 2008 that Assemblyman Lloyd Levine introduced AB 2026, a bill that would charge regulators with studying the feasibility of California introducing intrastate online poker. The California Assembly Governmental Organization Committee passed the bill and was amended by both the Assembly and Senate, but stalled after that.

Near the end of 2009, Sen. Roderick Wright made known his intention to introduce an online gambling bill, and SB 1485 or the Internet Gambling Consumer Protection and Public-Private Partnership Act of 2010 appeared early the following year, though was withdrawn after encountering pushback from various groups.

More bills and a tribal alliance

Later in 2010, a couple of different alliances of California tribes formed the California Online Poker Alliance and the California Intertribal Intrastate Poker Consortium. While representing those groups' interests, State Sen. Lou Correa introduced a new bill, SBSB 40, known as the State Funding, Job Creationand Online Gaming Accountability Act. Correa's bill was revised and reconsidered during the following year, but it, too, eventually stalled.

Sen. Wright tried again in 2012 with SB 1463, also proposed with the tribes' backing, but it failed as well, and by the end of the year, the tribes' online poker alliance dissolved. New online poker bills from both Wright (SB 51) and Correa (SB 678) followed over the next year, though neither advanced.

Further conflicts including over the ‘bad actor' issue

In 2014, Correa introduced SB 1366, an online poker bill with a 'bad actor' clause that would prohibit online poker sites that had served American players after 2006 from operating in California. Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer introduced the similar AB 2291, though, in his bill, the bad actor question was left open. The California Assembly Governmental Organization Committee did hold a hearing to discuss the topic, but nothing further came from it.

In 2015, multiple online poker bills came from the state assembly, then a similar 'shell' bill (AB 431) was co-authored by Assemblyman Adam Gray and Sen. Isadore Hall, though, it also stalled.

The 'bad actor' question became a central sticking point over the next couple of years. The tribal coalition emerged to argue that PokerStars (that had served Californians post-2006 through Black Friday in April 2011) and its then-parent company Amaya be banned from operating in the state for 10 years. Meanwhile, PokerStars had established partnerships with other tribes in CA as well as some commercial rooms. The operator was lobbying for a shorter five-year ban or the payment of a cash penalty to enter the state.

Amid this furor, a new online poker bill from Assemblyman Gray made it out of committee, one including a five-year ban for 'bad actors' but potentially worded in a way that could close such operators out permanently. It was understandably unfavorable for PokerStars and its partners. In any case, that bill never went further, and another legislative session ended with no online poker law.

Assemblyman Jones-Sawyer tried again in 2017 with AB 1677, a bill that left out the bad actor issue entirely. But it failed to move, and by year's end, PokerStars' partnership with California tribes ended.

Focus is taken away from online poker

In 2018, the US Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), thus bringing sports betting to the foreground and pushing online poker to the side. The continued divisions between interested parties lessened the momentum for online poker legislation even more.

For the first time in a decade, 2019 came and went without any online poker bills being proposed, and 2020 began without much interest being shown from lawmakers or other potential stakeholders.

What does the future hold for California online poker?

After years of discussion over online poker, the prospect of legalizing sports betting has drawn attention away from the subject, meaning California poker players will likely be unable to play real money poker online in California in the near future.

Player liquidity would not be a problem for California, a state with more than three times the population of Pennsylvania and more than four times that of New Jersey — two states where online poker has been legalized. That said, until California can come together to legalize sports betting, including online sports betting sites, the prospect for legalizing online gambling, including online poker, will remain dim.

As noted, poker players have no shortage of live options in the state, as well as other forms of gambling like pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing, casino-style games in the state's many tribal casinos and the CA lottery. But for the near term at least, online poker sites will not be among those choices.