Sports Betting in California

No. As of 2026, California has not legalized sports betting, either online or in person at casinos, cardrooms or racetracks; the only legal way to bet on a sporting event in the state is pari-mutuel wagering on horse races.

Why the 2022 measures did not change the law

In November 2022, California voters rejected two ballot measures that would have permitted sports wagering under different business and tax models. Proposition 26 would have allowed in-person sports wagering at tribal casinos and at four privately operated horse-racing tracks, with a 10% tax on sports-wagering profits at the tracks. In contrast, Proposition 27 would have legalized online and mobile sports wagering for adults 21 and older, offered only by federally recognized tribes and by gambling companies that partnered with a tribe.

Proposition 26 lost with about 33% of the vote, and Proposition 27 lost with about 18%, according to the certified results. Committees for and against the two measures raised more than $450 million combined, a state record, but neither created a legal pathway to sports betting at racetracks or on apps.

Both 2022 proposals were labeled an "initiative constitutional amendment and statute" in the Secretary of State's official voter guide. That is because Article IV, Section 19 of the California Constitution limits the forms of gambling the state may allow, and legalizing sports betting is widely understood to require an amendment that voters approve at the ballot box. That is why California has not simply passed a sports-betting bill the way many other states did after 2018.

What Californians can legally do

The legal options are the forms the constitution and state law already allow. Horse-race wagering is regulated by the California Horse Racing Board, both at tracks and satellite sites and online through licensed advance deposit wagering providers. The California Lottery sells tickets to adults 18 and older. Tribal casinos offer slot machines and house-banked card games under compacts with the state, and licensed cardrooms offer poker and other approved card games. None of these venues may take bets on football, basketball or other sports.

Offshore sportsbooks that accept Californians are not licensed in the state, and California law treats bookmaking as a crime. Players who use them have no state regulator to turn to if a dispute arises or a payout is withheld.

Tribes, prediction markets and what comes next

Tribes, which hold the exclusive right to run Nevada-style casino games in California, have been the central players in every sports-betting debate, and cardrooms opposed Proposition 26. At the time of writing, the California Nations Indian Gaming Association has said it is looking to a future ballot measure rather than a 2026 one. Sports "event contracts" sold on federally regulated prediction markets are a separate and contested issue: in September 2026 the Ninth Circuit held that such contracts count as gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act on the lands of two California tribes, and that litigation continues.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, so check the California Attorney General's Bureau of Gambling Control, the California Horse Racing Board and the Secretary of State's voter guides for the latest status. Anyone who needs help with gambling can call 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537).