Casino Bloom

Casinos by state

Best Casinos and Card Rooms in California

California's tribal casinos and its state licensed card rooms, from San Diego to the Oregon line. Tribal casinos have slot machines and house banked table games under their compacts; card rooms deal poker and player dealer games and have no slots. California has no legal sports betting.

  • 121 venues
  • 110 cities and towns

The 10 top rated venues in California

How the ranking works. Venues are ordered by their Google rating, weighted by how many people left one: every rating is blended with a neutral 4.0 as if the venue had 200 more reviews at 4.0, so a 4.6 from thousands of reviews ranks above a 5.0 from a dozen. Sponsorship has no effect on the order. Ratings last checked October 2026.

Browse California

All 121 venues by city

The biggest casino towns in California

  1. Sacramento3
  2. Bakersfield2
  3. Chico2
  4. Coachella2
  5. Gardena2
  6. Livermore2
  7. Oroville2
  8. Redding2

LA County card rooms

Inland Empire and the pass

Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley

Temecula and North San Diego County

San Diego and East County

Ventura, Santa Ynez and the Central Valley

Central Coast: Santa Cruz to San Luis Obispo

Eastern Sierra and the Colorado River

Central Valley: Stockton to Fresno

North Coast, Lake County and the Redwoods

San Francisco Bay Area and Wine Country

Far Northern California

Sacramento and the Gold Country

Ownership changes in progress

  • North Fork Mono Casino & Resort near Madera was advertising an October 2026 opening, with no date announced and a neighboring tribe's federal lawsuit still pending. (tribalgaming.com)
  • Caesars Republic Sonoma County is being built beside River Rock Casino in Geyserville to replace it, with opening planned for summer 2027; River Rock stays open meanwhile. (hotelnewsresource.com)
  • Hard Rock Casino Tejon, which opened south of Bakersfield in November 2025, is building its hotel phase, expected late 2027. (bakersfieldnow.com)

Recently closed or not operating

Venues that still appear in older lists or directories but are not open at that site, kept apart from the listings above.

Former casinoCasino yearsToday
Mechoopda Casino (Chico)2024 to 2025Suspended operations January 31, 2025; the tribe says it intends to reopen, with no date.
Hopland Sho-Ka-Wah Casino (Hopland)Until 2018Closed in August 2018 during the Mendocino Complex fire and never reopened.
Scotts Valley preview casino (Vallejo)July to August 2026Closed after the Interior Department found the land not eligible for gaming.
Club One Casino, former site (Fresno)Until its moveThe card room moved to 3950 N Cedar Ave and is open there: see the listing.

Sources: (tribalbusinessnews.com, indianz.com, pressdemocrat.com, clubonecasino.com)

Questions about casinos in California

What is the difference between a tribal casino and a card room in California?

Tribal casinos are run by federally recognized tribes on tribal land under compacts with the state, and they can offer slot machines and house banked table games. Card rooms are licensed by the state and deal poker and player dealer card games, where a player or a licensed third party banks the game; they charge a fee per hand or per seat and have no slot machines. (cgcc.ca.gov, oag.ca.gov)

How old do you have to be to gamble in California?

21 in card rooms, by state law (Business and Professions Code section 19921). Tribal casinos set their own minimum age, 18 at some and 21 at others, so check with the casino before you go. (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)

Is sports betting legal in California?

No. California voters rejected both sports betting measures, Propositions 26 and 27, in November 2022, and no casino or card room in the state can take sports bets. (sos.ca.gov)

Can you play slot machines in California?

Only at tribal casinos. Card rooms can't have slot machines, so if you want slots, look at the tribal casinos list. (cgcc.ca.gov)

Where are California's card rooms?

Mostly in and around cities: Los Angeles County has the biggest, with others in the Bay Area, Sacramento, the Central Valley and a few coastal towns. The state's list of licensed gambling establishments, dated August 2026, has 75 entries, some of them not operating. (oag.ca.gov)

Checked October 2026.

Keep exploring

Nearby states in the guide