Here’s what you need to know about gambling in California. A pitched battle between gaming companies, tribes, card rooms, and others has broken campaign cash records and has landed two separate initiatives to legalize sports betting on the ballot. Tribal casinos also had a record breaking year in 2021.ĭuring this year’s November election, Californians will decide whether they want to expand gambling further and allow sports betting.
Then, in 2021, it came roaring back – even faster than the rest of the economy – and brought in more money than any previous year. Nationally, commercial gaming revenue after winnings shrank by more than 25% between 20. The gambling industry, like many, took a hit during the pandemic. But after Nevada, California has the most slot machines of any state – one measure of the state’s betting industry.
Nevada, right next door, is undoubtedly the national capital of all things gambling. In California, you can bet on a horse race, buy a lottery ticket, put money on poker in a card room and play slots at a tribal casino all in the same – potentially expensive – day.
