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1. American Poker Sites Real Money
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In the competitive world of professional poker, the player with the most experience often takes home the most money, and California online poker is no exception. California is home to 5 of the top 20 earners in professional poker currently and players like these have often accredited most of their experience to playing online poker on licensed offshore sites while from their home state of California.

California online poker. California has been trying to pass an online poker bill since 2008. Progress has been, to put it mildly, trivial. Read the latest California online poker developments below, and scroll down for a synopsis of the status quo for legal online poker in California. California Online Poker Law. Like a traffic jam on the 405 freeway, legalization of online poker in California is slowly inching along. It might take a year or two, but online poker players in California will be able to play for real money sooner rather than later. Online poker legalization has been on the lips of legislators for about five. Most first deposit bonuses comes Online Poker California Real Money with a minimum deposit requirement Online Poker California Real Money as well as a wagering requirement. Wagering Requirements for Casino Bonuses. A casino bonus must be staked a set number of times before a withdrawal can be made, this is known as the turnover requirement.

The idea is to see as many hands as you can while you’re playing. Some online poker players in California have been known to see upwards of 10,000 hands in a single day, more than a typical casino player would see in a lifetime. This is something that can only be achieved with the features available through online poker sites rather than face to face games at live poker rooms.

This page will provide you with information about the state’s available online poker games, bonuses, banking options, software capabilities, and even a bit of a historical perspective on poker gambling in California.

Are Online Poker Sites Legal In California?

There are only a few regions in the US that have legalized state-regulated and licensed online poker gambling operations, and CA is not yet one of them. California is considering the legalization of domestic online poker operations but the bill being considered has not yet been approved to become law. The DOJ’s Legal Opinion issued in 2011 set the stage to allow each individual US state to pass legislation legalizing online casino and/or poker gambling, however, few US states have taken advantage of this option.

Currently, there are no California online gambling laws or any US federal online gambling laws which make it a crime for California residents to play poker online at legitimately licensed and regulated offshore online poker destinations. Licensed offshore poker rooms are the primary legal option for CA players looking to enjoy legal online poker gambling for real money and until California reaches a legislative consensus regarding state-regulated online poker platforms, licensed offshore poker remains a stable and legal alternative.

CA laws do, however, punish online poker operators based in the Golden State who service CA players without proper licensing or authorization by the state. Any domestic CA-based online poker sites are illegal until the state announces passed legislation and begins issuing licenses.

Legally Licensed Online Poker Sites Accepting California Players

Following brands are the top online poker providers in the industry and have been for many years. Our team of analysts has meticulously reviewed each aspect of these websites to ensure that they are operating in a legal offshore jurisdiction that also provides them with the proper regulatory oversight and licensing.

These brands have all developed great reputations within the online gambling industry and have demonstrated a dedication to providing a legitimate, secure, and high-quality destination for engaging in premium online poker entertainment.

Other California Gambling Pages

What Games Can I Play At Interactive Poker Sites?

There are tournaments and poker games of all shapes and sizes available online which readily come to mind. CA players can find tournaments for playing Texas Hold’Em, 3, 5, and 7 Card Stud, 32 Card Draw, Americana, and of course, Omaha and Hi/Lo, as well as, many more poker games. There are also several variations of these poker games available at each of our recommended destinations as general games or tournaments.

Players may also find specialty poker games such as HORSE or Caribbean Stud, among others. The poker sites listed in this guide all utilize proprietary software solutions to power their gameplay, software, and virtual poker room. Each brand offers a feature-rich interface that empowers players by supporting multi-hand, multi-table, speed play options, and more.

Can I Play For Free At Online Poker Sites?

Available from most providers, Free Play functions are an extremely useful tool for first-time online users. Free Play essentially provides a risk-free environment to let players get to know the software interface by letting them play with limitless fake money. This is a great way for first-time online poker players to become acclimated to the online environment, learn a new game, or test out their strategy online.

Poker playing is about confidence, therefore, Free Play allows new online players to build up their confidence to become comfortable using and navigating the online interface. Newbies can learn new poker games or hone their skills on their favorite game without taking any financial risk. Seasoned casino vets can also use Free Play to get used to online multi-hand and table features if they are looking to see more hands per hour or learn where to click and practice online betting strategies.

CA players can also choose to play in the Freeroll tournaments which are another opportunity for players to play for free. In these types of tournaments, there is no entrance fee and therein lies the opportunity to win real cash prizes without any financial risk on the player’s behalf.

Are There Online Poker Bonuses Available?

Top tier poker websites will offer first-time players a welcome bonus which usually takes the form of more money in the players account to gamble with through a “Match Bonus”. The site will specify matching a certain percentage of a player’s first deposit, or deposits if they allow redemption more than once, and do so it just for the player signing up and depositing funds into their account. There are also reload bonuses, referral bonuses, and special promotions which are often tied to tournaments.

Keep in mind that poker deposit match bonuses are handled differently from online casino bonuses as they are awarded incrementally in a ‘the more you play, the more you get’ scenario. Bonuses offered normally have attached conditions which must be met before withdrawing, so read each bonuses conditions thoroughly before redeeming.

Can I Play Poker From My Mobile Phone?

There are mobile poker gambling options available for iPhone, Android, Windows, and more from all of our recommended brands. Relying on the most popular mobile brands and networks, most poker apps have switched from downloadable to browser-based or better known as responsive design. This change in mobile optimization to responsive design has effectively changed the way mobile games are offered by allowing players to simply enter the brand’s URL into their mobile browser and play at will.

What Are The Banking Options For Online Poker?

The wallet systems that are associated with these online poker systems have multiple methods of deposit and withdrawal. However, the deposit and withdrawal options available do vary somewhat between brands. Players can always find accepted forms of digital decentralized currencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Dash as they seem to be the most successful while traveling seamlessly and processing quickly throughout the online gambling world.

Players may also likely to find options for the major credit cards including Visa, MasterCard, and sometimes American Express and Discover. However, if these cards are tied to a traditional banking institution players may see their attempted deposits canceled by their bank. This is due to the UIGEA, a federal banking regulation preventing banks from processing gambling transactions.

Other more successful payment methods include several forms of wire or money transfer from bank-to-bank and person-to-person. Sometimes fees and processing times are associated with the type of deposit or withdrawal method used, so be sure to review these details so that you are aware of which methods are the most or least beneficial to you.

California Views on Poker Gambling from The Beginning

California has a long history with poker reaching back into the late 1800’s. When the California constitution was drafted in 1879, draw poker was conveniently left out of its gambling restrictions which placed a prohibition on basically all other forms of gambling. It became a common occurrence for card players from all over the country to travel to California looking for big poker games and big thrills.

In the late 30’s, people could find numerous legally regulated cardrooms in Long Beach, L.A., Hawthorne, El Monte, and a number of unincorporated areas in L.A. County. Today, card rooms are still all over the state of California, these are player banked and exist within the current laws as social gambling. In these games, the house simply takes a small fee from each hand and the players gamble against each other instead of the house.

Poker Rooms In California

Online Poker has become extremely popular around the world in recent years. In fact, it is now the preferred medium of playing poker for many amateurs and professionals alike. Contrary to popular belief, It is actually California which is considered the center of the poker universe and not Nevada. The reason that California has gained this reputation is due the fact that several high stakes games and tournaments are frequently hosted within the state throughout the year.

However, there seems to be a lot of confusion amongst online poker players and online gamblers in general about the legal status of online gambling in the Golden state.

In this article, we will take a deeper dive into the murky waters that is – the legislation that governs online casinos in California, and shed some much-needed light on it.

Top Californian Poker Rooms for October 2021All Poker Rooms are Licensed , Mobile Friendly Advertiser Disclosure

Contents

• Legislation governing online poker in California
• Essentials of playing online poker in California

Most recent gambling news from the state of California

More often than not, the state of California makes it into gambling headlines as a result of some form of delay or disagreement with regards to the state attempting to regulate online poker and other forms of online gambling. It has been a decade and the state has remained highly indecisive about whether they are pro and anti and it seems like they just keep turning the tables back and forth periodically. Even though some progress has been made in recent years to thwart away opposition of horse racing, there is still a certain piece of legislation called the bad actor clause which is still in place and does not seem to budge or compromise even a bit.

In February 2018, Assemblyman Reggie Jones Sawyer proposed a bill in favor of online gambling, but faced such fierce opposition from proponents of the bad actor clause that the bill went down in flames, figuratively, just a few months after it was proposed.

Legislation governing online poker in California

The path to legalization of online gambling and online poker in California has been a long, winding one with a lot of pitfalls. As per Assemblyman Mike Gatto, Californian legislators come up with an average of 2 – 6 gambling bills almost every year since 2008 and not a single one of them has come anywhere close to being passed or enforced.

Eventually, after a final push in 2016 for the long pending legalization of online gambling in California, the matter has now been left hanging in limbo. Yes, it is basically on an indefinite hold at this point in time. In fact, the journey has been so upsetting and the source of such strong frustration that several lawmakers and supporters of legalization have hung up their gloves and called it quits.

Bad Actors – what are they?

As per the law books, a “bad actor” is an online gambling establishment such as an online casino or poker room which continues or continued to accept real money bets from American players even after the passing of the UIGEA was enforced officially as of the last day of the year 2016. UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) basically outlaws American residents from playing real money gambling on the internet.

A quintessential example of a bad actor is PokerStars, a popular online poker room where even coveted professionals hold accounts and play frequently. Despite the passing of the UIGEA, PokerStars continued to accept American players into their online poker rooms and tournaments. They only stopped when the US Department of Justice seized the domain and charges were pressed against as many as 13 people from the company on the very same day. The same also happened with Full Tilt Poker and several other online poker rooms.

PokerStars settled the case by paying a staggering fine of over $700 million. PokerStars was then taken over by Rational Group for just under 5 billion US dollars and Rational Group tried every trick in the book to push for the legalization of this website throughout America. However, PokerStars remained blacklisted in the following states due to the bad actors clause in the state legislation of these states – Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware.

Essentials of playing online poker in California

If there is one thing you need to know about poker and online poker specifically in California, it is that it is highly popular throughout the state. This may be attributed to the many Californian players that are ranked highly in the world stage of poker, it can also be attributed to the fact that there is year-round poker action in the state’s card rooms, etc. Whatever the reason for the widespread popularity, California beats other states in terms of number of online poker players by a long mile.

Are Californians able to sign up at online poker sites?

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In States like New York and Maryland, Poker players are being declined when they attempt to sign up and register accounts with online poker sites. However, thankfully, this is not the case with California. All the top, legal websites that have been ranked and reviewed on our websites recognize and accept players from California.

Therefore, signing up and playing online poker from California is absolutely fine. You just register an account, provide your details and you can get started playing in a matter of minutes.

Is online poker legal or not in California?

Provided that we are not legal counsellors, this is a question that we are technically not qualified to answer. Having said that, we have been in the industry for decades and so we can give you an insight into the current pragmatic status of online poker in California. Be it legal or not, it is certainly a gray area. However, what you should know and what will put things in perspective is that if you do choose to play online poker as a Californian resident, you are certainly not going to get into any legal trouble. Even if it is outlawed, it is just something that cannot be enforced and never has any criminal charge been pressed or action been taken against an individual player for online poker in the state of California.

Will California regulate online poker?

The fact is that the demand for online poker is humongous in California. Even though the legislation and the bad actor clause is providing some resistance, people are already playing online poker in California, in fact, hundreds of thousands of Californians play online poker.

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Therefore, it is virtually impossible for the state to penalize them all. Eventually, the state is going to have to recognize the demand and realize that their prohibition is not going to work. The only thing that will work is to legalize online poker fully, regulate it, make is safe and fair for all Californians and even maybe generate some revenue by taxing the industry. Therefore, it is not a matter of whether California will regulate online poker, but a question of when California will regulate online poker.