In September 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 549, allowing several tribal nations in California to challenge the legality of certain community casinos offering specific table games.
Only tribal casinos in the state can legally offer banked card games like blackjack and baccarat. The tribes have sued some local casinos for using a loophole that permits card rooms to offer these games.
Third-Party Provider Loophole
Non-tribal casinos use third-party providers (TPPs) and independent contractors to avoid having one person take all wins or losses. TPPs are state-licensed businesses that play in games with rotating player-dealer positions. Unlike tribal casinos or Las Vegas establishments, where a single dealer collects wins or losses, these games are illegal in California except at tribal casinos.
Adam Lauridsen, the head legal counsel for the tribal nations, said, “If you go into a card room, what you’re seeing is the proposition player sitting there for an hour, for two hours, for three hours, banking every single hand, and that’s illegal. That makes these games indistinguishable from a Vegas game or a tribal casino game.”
Lauridsen also stated that allowing card rooms to run banked games costs tribal nations millions of dollars in lost revenue annually. However, those who oppose the lawsuit say that if it is successful, it would severely hamper several small local communities.
Online California Casinos
Tribal casinos and local card rooms in California cannot offer online services. However, online CA casinos do exist from offshore sites that operate legally from outside of the United States. While they are technically only legal due to a lack of federal gambling laws, online casinos have been accepting CA players since the early 2000s.
For many players who have grown accustomed to online gambling sites, offshore international brands have become the best option and the most trusted source for many players. From our experience, online casinos offer fair odds and hours of entertainment.
Real-money online casinos differentiate from App Store social casinos by offering payouts in USD. In contrast, social casinos often offer tokens or some digital asset that can be exchanged for some goods.
Online Casino Banking Options for Californians
Multiple banking options are generally accepted for California players who wager online. One of the most popular deposit and withdrawal options is Bitcoin.
Bitcoin gambling deposits and other altcoins offer fast and secure transactions to players over 18. Another perk of using digital currencies is that you can often request payouts in your deposited currency.