The days of being whisked offshore to enjoy a glitzy night of gambling off the Santa Monica coastline are well and truly behind us, but the desire of Californians to gamble hasn’t dampened.
This desire has seen Californian consumers explore an offshore betting industry of a different nature, made possible by the proliferation of mobile devices and improving technology.
California has strict gambling regulations as we discuss below, but it does offer some licensed poker facilities due to it being deemed a game of skill rather than chance. Consumers are also able to access online poker sites that operate in other jurisdictions and are not governed by Californian laws.
Online gambling expert Graziella Calleja describes how players can enjoy secure gambling sites that are licensed in other countries, ensuring safe and fair operations.
Californian Gambling Regulations
Gambling in California is currently restricted to a state lottery, parimutuel gambling on dog and horse racing, card rooms, charitable gaming, and Indian casinos.
Tribal-state compacts are an agreement that sees casino licenses granted for operations on tribal land. There are 87 tribal casinos in operation in California that create an economic impact worth more than $34.5 billion.
The industry currently contributes over $5 billion in tax and supports over 184,000 jobs.
California regulations require independent testing on gaming machines and they must also comply with Federal anti-money laundering regulations. Some casinos offer credit facilities to customers and there are also cashless gaming facilities in operation. However, cryptocurrencies are not currently accepted by Californian casinos.
Casinos are forbidden from making political contributions as a way of ensuring integrity during legislative proposal processes.
Sports betting is still currently prohibited in California. Proposition 26 sought to allow sports betting in the state at tribal casinos but was rejected in November 2022 after being voted on by the public.
California’s Gambling Ships
There are similarities between online offshore betting facilities that allow Californians to access different betting markets and the ships that used to offer casino gambling in the 1930s. Online operators are set up in countries that allow online gambling, and consumers are able to access these sites online. By operating outside Californian jurisdiction, consumers are not breaking any laws by gambling with them.
Similarly, casino boats used to sail out of Californian waters which stretched 3 miles from the coastline. The idea was that operating outside of California’s territorial waters would make them immune to local laws.
This seemed to work well until August of 1939 when the authorities launched an operation to shut down the ship’s action. Three ships surrendered without putting up a fight, but the S.S. Rex stood its ground.
Owned and operated by former bootlegger Tony Cornero, the boat loaded with 600 paying customers was approached by 250 agents who met resistance as the boat’s gangway was barricaded and water cannons were used to deter officers from attempting to board.
A standoff began with Cornero claiming he had plenty of food to feed his 600 guests and 200 crew members. Eventually, an evacuation was arranged to remove guests from the vessel in the morning. The standoff ended 10 days later, and the ensuing courtroom battle ended with California’s jurisdiction being extended to 15 miles off the Santa Monica shore.
