Is Online Poker Legal in California?

Yes, online poker is legal in California. There are a number of well-established and reputable online poker sites that welcome players from the Golden State.

What’s more, thanks to a recent change in the law, it’s now possible for Californians to legally play real money online poker with one another.

Prior to 2019, Californians could only access licensed and regulated online poker sites that were based outside of the United States. While these international sites were perfectly legal, they were not subject to the same stringent regulations as US-based sites.

This meant that there was no guarantee that player funds were safe or that the games were fair.

The situation changed in 2019 when the US Department of Justice issued a revised opinion on the Wire Act. This opinion stated that the Wire Act only applied to sports betting, and not to other forms of gambling including online poker.

PRO TIP:Online poker is not yet legal in California; however, there are multiple bills that have been introduced in recent years to allow it. Currently, the only legal forms of online poker available for Californian players are sweepstakes-style sites that offer real money prizes for play money games.

This paved the way for individual US states to regulate online poker within their own borders.

California was quick to act, and in October 2019 a bill was passed that would allow for the creation of intrastate online poker networks. These networks would link up players from different California casinos so that they could compete against one another for real money prizes.

The bill also included provisions for licensing and regulating online poker operators.

While the bill was passed in 2019, it’s still not clear when Californians will be able to start playing on these intrastate poker networks. The operators need to obtain licenses from the state gaming commission before they can launch, and this process is still ongoing.

Once the licenses have been issued, it’s expected that the first real money games will be up and running within a matter of months.

In conclusion, online poker is legal in California and players can look forward to being able to access regulated and safe games in the near future.