- Can You Gamble On Sports In California
- How To Bet On Sports In California
- How To Gamble On Sports In California City
- How To Gamble On Sports In California County
- How To Bet On Sports In California Reddit
With the exception of the day after the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, there's a major sporting event every day of the year in this country. Whether your favorite sport is football, basketball, baseball, hockey, or even golf, there is always a game to watch. Sports fans know that this means there is no shortage of opportunities to make their favorite team's matches a little more exciting.
The future of online gambling in California. At the moment, the future of online gambling in California does not look very realistic. There have been numerous attempts over the years to legalize online poker in the Senate and to push for online sports betting. However, each of these legality attempts have been met with significant resistance. If you want to bet on sports in California, you will need to visit one of these tribal casinos or racetracks. Likely, the usual pattern is for live sports betting to launch first with online betting to follow after regulators are content that all the boxes are checked. The mechanics of getting started. Live betting is another great option offered by California sportsbooks. This gives you the chance to bet on sports as they're happening. For example, if the Dodgers are playing the Giants and it's the top of the fifth, you can bet on whether the next pitch thrown will be a strike, ball, hit or walk.
Despite its sports betting laws, California has a rich history of gambling. The state has legal Native American casinos. Live poker rooms are available throughout California and horse-racing is legal and very popular. This means that residents in California who want to gamble on sports have two options. Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) is a new way to play on major league sports teams and players. DFS is available in California. Try your sports knowledge skills by playing DFS, read our Monkey Knife Fight review. Play fantasy games by selecting prop contests on a variety sports events like NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL PGA, soccer, and more.
Can You Gamble On Sports In California
The question is: Is it legal to place bets on sporting events in California?
A Complicated Answer (PC 337(a))
The legal authority that controls betting on sports is a tangled web of federal and state laws. Though many states allow casino gaming and have state lotteries, gambling on sports exists in its own tightly controlled legal world.
First, there is a difference in the law between the person placing the bet and the person accepting the bet. The law is not the same for both parties in many states. In California, it is not illegal to make a bet, but it is illegal to take a bet, or operate as a bookie under California Penal Code Section 337(a).
How To Bet On Sports In California
In 1992, the federal government passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, a law that prohibited sports betting in all but the four states where it was already legal: Delaware, Montana, Oregon, and Nevada. Congress controls interstate commerce, so it can prevent states like California from passing laws that would legalize betting on sports.1
The Online Picture
Another federal law, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006, makes it a crime for an online operator of a gambling website to accept bets using money from residents of the United States, but does not make it a crime to place those bets. The federal government has already won legal battles against offshore casinos like PokerStars, which was ordered to pay $547 million in a settlement with the U.S. government in 2012.2
There are still a number of offshore companies that have found creative ways to avoid running afoul of the federal law, but the risk for bettors is always that the site they use could be shut down before they can collect any winnings.
However, there is also an exception in the UIGEA for simulated games such as fantasy sports leagues. If the bet requires 'knowledge of the participants, or their skill at physical reaction or physical manipulation (but not chance), and, in the case of a fantasy or simulation sports game, has an outcome that is determined predominantly by accumulated statistical results of sporting events,' the bet is legal.3
Point Shaving and Bribery of Officials
There are a couple of areas where the law is definitely clear. Under California Penal Code Section 337, it is illegal for any person to bribe a participant in any sporting event to 'not use his or her best efforts to win.' In other words, it is illegal for a person and an athlete to agree to rig the outcome of a game, and both the person and the athlete can be punished by a term in state prison and by a maximum fine of $5,000.
However, there is also an exception in the UIGEA for simulated games such as fantasy sports leagues. If the bet requires 'knowledge of the participants, or their skill at physical reaction or physical manipulation (but not chance), and, in the case of a fantasy or simulation sports game, has an outcome that is determined predominantly by accumulated statistical results of sporting events,' the bet is legal.3
Point Shaving and Bribery of Officials
There are a couple of areas where the law is definitely clear. Under California Penal Code Section 337, it is illegal for any person to bribe a participant in any sporting event to 'not use his or her best efforts to win.' In other words, it is illegal for a person and an athlete to agree to rig the outcome of a game, and both the person and the athlete can be punished by a term in state prison and by a maximum fine of $5,000.
The same holds true for a person who bribes a referee or umpire, and for the referee or umpire who accepts the bribe. In those cases, the person and the official can be fined up to $10,000, and sentenced to a term in either county jail or state prison.
Is My March Madness Pool Illegal?
With all these restrictions, you are probably left wondering whether buying squares in a Super Bowl pool or a betting on a bracket in the NCAA basketball tournament is going to be something for which you can be sent to jail.
The truth is, though taking bets is illegal, enforcement of the law against individuals or even small groups of people is extremely rare because most bets between friends only result in the winner making money, and not a person taking a cut of the winnings for organizing the bet. In fact, it is not unheard of for these types of pools to spring up even in the offices of district attorneys, who are more concerned with breaking up large-scale operations that have links to organized crime than your bet with your friends.4
Contact the Attorneys at Wallin & Klarich to Learn More
How To Gamble On Sports In California City
Have questions about whether your gambling is violating the law? An experienced Wallin & Klarich attorney can help. We have been successfully defending people facing criminal charges for over 30 years. Contact us today for a free, no obligation consultation and let us help you, too.
With offices in Los Angeles, Sherman Oaks, Torrance, Tustin, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, West Covina and Victorville, there is an experienced Wallin & Klarich attorney near you, no matter where you work or live.
How To Gamble On Sports In California County
Call us today at (877) 4-NO-JAIL or (877) 466-5245 for a free phone consultation. We will be there when you call.
How To Bet On Sports In California Reddit
1. [Mark Anderson, 'Odds Too Long for California Sports Betting Bill,' Sacramento Business Journal, June 4, 2013, available at: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2013/06/04/california-sports-betting-bill-fails.html.]↩
2. [Nathan Vardi, 'PokerStars Will Pay $731 Million To Settle U.S. Government Charges and Buy Full Tilt Poker,' Forbes, July 31, 2012, available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2012/07/31/pokerstars-will-pay-547-million-to-settle-u-s-government-charges-and-buy-full-tilt-poker/.]↩
3. [Chris Smith, 'Why Is Gambling On Fantasy Football Legal?' Forbes, September 19, 2013, available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2012/09/19/should-gambling-on-fantasy-football-be-legal/.]↩
4. [Daniel Roberts, 'Was My Sports Bet Legal?' Fortune, February 15, 2011, available at http://fortune.com/2011/02/15/was-my-sports-bet-legal/.]↩
