California Love!
What isn’t there to do in this state? Surfing, skiing, the beach, hiking, the desert, California has it all. The one thing missing from this beautiful state is legalized sports betting. With the largest population in the United States, California is considered the holy grail for casinos and sportsbooks to get into.
The biggest city is Los Angeles with almost 4 million people. The state also has five other cities with a population over 500,000. California is littered with professional sports teams across the entire coast. In the NFL there are the Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. The NBA teams are the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings. The five MLB teams are the Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres. In the NHL, there are the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks.
In addition to the numerous professional teams, there are also 26 Division 1 programs in the state. The national brands are USC, UCLA, California, Stanford, Fresno State and San Diego State.
The Golden State is a hotbed for sports in the country. No other state has more professional sports teams and major college programs than California. It’s a place that would seem to welcome legal wagering on all the sports in their state. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened yet.
Gambling is legal in California; however, sports Betting is not. Residents can gamble at the tribal casinos and card rooms across the state. In the tribal casinos, players are able to play traditional table games, while in card rooms it’s mostly poker.
Residents of CA will have to turn their attention to 2024 if sports gambling will be legalized. During the midterm elections of 2022, two ballot measures were overwhelmingly shot down by voters. There was barely 30% of support for legalized sports betting across state voters. This was a bleak moment for those in support. Now, 2024 is the earliest time this issue will be addressed.
For those residents of California who want to gamble legally on sports, the neighboring states of Nevada, Arizona and Oregon all offer legalized sports betting for those over the age of 21.