Online Poker in California - Best CA Online Poker Sites 2025

California is the largest state in the Union by population, and it isn't even close. With 39.5 million people calling themselves citizens of The Golden State, it is no surprise to learn that for online poker, California represents the largest amount of player traffic of any state.

Unfortunately, regulated California online poker is not yet a reality as state leaders have not managed to pass any state-wide regulation of poker online or any other form of online gambling. Offshore online poker sites have taken notice. As of this moment, there are around a dozen reputable sites serving US players, and all of them allow Californians to partake in their games.

Professional Rakeback's staff has combed through them, played on them extensively, and chosen the most reputable, reliable, and fastest-paying California poker sites to offer to our customers. We feel that Ignition Casino Poker is the overall #1 pick for online poker in California real money play, but you can read the rest of this page to find out more about all these rooms and choose for yourself.

Top Online Poker Sites in California

Directly below, you will find overviews of our favorite California online poker rooms, links to more full-featured reviews of those sites, and direct sign up links if you want to get started right away.

1

IGNITION

BONUS:

150% → $1,500

★★★★★

4.7 / 5

BEST FOR HIGHEST TRAFFIC

NETWORK:

PAIWANGLUO

EXTRAS

CASINO

MORE:

REVIEW

VISIT IGNITION POKER!

2

SB POKER

BONUS:

100% → $1,000

★★★★★

4.5 / 5

BEST FOR BAD BEAT JACKPOTS

NETWORK:

CHICO

EXTRAS

CASINO+SPORTSBOOK

MORE:

REVIEW

VISIT SB POKER!

3

BETONLINE

BONUS:

100% → $1,000

★★★★★

4.4 / 5

BEST FOR MOBILE GAMES

NETWORK:

CHICO

EXTRAS

CASINO+SPORTSBOOK

MORE:

REVIEW

VISIT BETONLINE!

4

BOVADA

BONUS:

100% → $500

★★★★★

4.4 / 5

BEST FOR SPORTS & CASINO

NETWORK:

PAIWANGLUO

EXTRAS

CASINO+SPORTSBOOK

MORE:

READ REVIEW

VISIT BOVADA!

5

ACR POKER

BONUS:

100% → $2,000

★★★★★

4.1 / 5

BEST FREE BANKROLL OFFER

NETWORK:

WINNING

EXTRAS

$10 FREE (CODE PRB10FREE)

MORE:

REVIEW

VISIT ACR POKER!

Is Online Poker Legal in California?

California is a huge and diverse state, and there are many county and local laws that supplement the state codes. Fortunately, though, none of them contravene the principles of California law, which does not criminalize the playing of poker over the internet.

You may have heard of UIGEA, the Wire Act or other Federal anti-gambling legislation. Some mistakenly believe that these laws ban online poker, but this is simply untrue. In any event, these statutes are directed at the owners and managers of the gaming sites, not individual players.

In case there's any doubt on this point, our extensive research has not uncovered a single instance of the law being used against anyone for playing California online poker. Thus, you can play online poker in California without breaking any laws.

Best California Online Poker Sites

In order to help you avoid shady and fly-by-night operators, we've taken a good, hard look at all the legal online poker California sites to present you with only top-notch options. We are professional poker players and long-time enthusiasts of the game, and below you will find what we consider to be the best online poker sites California has to offer.

How to Play Online Poker in California

It's not too hard to get started playing online poker for real money in California. We've described below the steps required to register for our #1 recommended site, Ignition Poker, but the instructions are similar for any other site. A few of the details may differ depending on which room you choose to play at, but they should be close to the following:

1. Click on our link to go to Ignition.
2. The registration form will appear in your browser, and you'll have to enter in the information required. Be sure to type in your true and accurate info because when it's time to request a cashout, you'll have to complete identity verification, and any inaccuracies could lead to the termination of your account and confiscation of your money.
3. Press the “Register” button at the bottom of the form to create your account.
4. Ignition may send an SMS to your phone to verify your phone number. Enter the code they send to you in the area for this on Ignition's website.
5. Once your account is created, you can go over to the cashier and make your first deposit via whatever payment process you're most comfortable with (we highly recommend Bitcoin)

How We Evaluate California Online Poker Sites – Choosing the Best Internet Poker Room

There are numerous sites for online poker California residents can access, and they each have their own selling points and drawbacks. We've researched how they stack up across a variety of criteria to identify the best ones.

Games Available and Stakes Offered

Some poker rooms focus only on NL Hold'em and perhaps Omaha, but others spread a wide variety of other formats of the game, like Stud and 2-7 Triple Draw. Besides this, the blind levels offered are different at each site.

Innovative game types, like lottery-style SNGs, fast-fold cash games, and multi-flight tournaments, are present at some sites but absent from others. We've examined the offerings at all online poker rooms carefully to bring you up-to-date info.

Deposit and Payment Channels

Though most internet poker sites transact using legacy payment options, like checks and credit cards, they have all introduced more modern fintech solutions. The best, in our informed opinion, is Bitcoin. This crypto-currency, along with numerous “altcoins,” enables fast transactions with low fees.

If you haven't yet jumped aboard the BTC bandwagon, then you can learn how to get started with this detailed Bitcoin guide.

Bonuses and Promotional Specials

Many online poker companies provide first deposit bonuses to new customers. In addition, there are many other promos extended to existing clients, such as reload bonuses, rake races and other leaderboards, contests, loyalty programs, and many more. The specific roster of promotions available varies a lot from site to site. Some of them are seasonal and change often while others are more permanent.

Online Poker Rakeback

Rakeback refers to an ongoing refund of a portion of the rake you pay while playing online poker. This is such a beneficial arrangement for any player that we have decided to incorporate it into the name of our site: Professional Rakeback. What makes rakeback deals so lucrative is the fact that they generally operate for the entire lifetime of your account.

• ACR Poker – 27% rakeback paid on demand
• CoinPoker – 33% rakeback paid weekly (must hold CHP token)
• Everygame – 36% rakeback paid daily
• SwCPoker – up to 50% rakeback (volume dependent)
• BlackChip Poker – 27% rakeback paid on demand
• Juicy Stakes Poker – 36% rakeback paid weekly
• True Poker – 27% rakeback paid on demand

Reviews of Online Poker Sites for California

If you're a discerning consumer, then you might want to learn more about any site before registering and creating an account. Look below for more detailed info about the places we recommend for California online poker.

Ignition Casino Poker

Deposit Methods

Credit Card, Voucher Code, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, MatchPay

Pros

• Most games simultaneously running
• Bonuses clear rapidly
• Soft games inhabited by fish

Cons

• Unable to choose table or seat in cash games

Review

Ignition is the Cali-friendly internet poker room with the greatest number of games running on average and action sometimes going up to $10/$20. The formats spread include NL Hold'em, LHE, PL Omaha, fast-fold tables, SNGs, Jackpots, and tournaments. Speaking of tournaments, there's a $150K Gtd event every week and regular MTT series that award seven figures in prize money.

All play is anonymized at Ignition to protect recreational users from being targeted by sharks. Also, you cannot select your table or seat as the software automatically seats you once you specify the game and stakes you wish to play.

The poker software here comes in Mac and PC downloadable forms as well as a web client that you can access from your phone or tablet. Get a 150% up to $1,500 poker bonus when you deposit via cryptocurrency.

SB Poker/BetOnline

Deposit Methods

Credit Cards, Person to Person, Money Orders, Bank Wire, Cashiers Check, Bitcoin, Avalanche, Binance, Bitcoin Cash, Cardano, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Polygon, Ripple, Shiba Inu, Solana, Stellar, Tether, Tron, USD Coin

Pros

• Rapid cashouts via cryptocurrency
• Large bad beat jackpots
• Great mobile software

Cons

• High rake

Review

Sportsbetting.ag and its partner site BetOnline together comprise the third-largest online poker room for Californians, and they have blinds as high as $5/$10 in NL Texas Hold'em, PLO, and PLO/8 cash games. In addition, there's 5 Card PLO, 6 Card PLO, fast-fold Boost Poker, sit n' gos, three-player lottery Windfall contests, and multi-table tourneys.

SB Poker and BOL offer separate Bad Beat Jackpots at every blind level of NL Hold'em and PLO. You can also grow your bankroll with leaderboards and contests.

You can install SB Poker on your Windows or Mac desktop, and there's also an excellent mobile product for iOS and Android. You'll get a 100% up to $1,000 poker bonus on your first deposit, and other promotions apply to the attached sportsbook and casino.

Bovada

Deposit Methods

Credit Card, Voucher Code, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, MatchPay

Pros

• Superb player traffic
• History spanning more than a decade
• All-in-one gaming (poker, casino, sports, racing, live dealer)

Cons

• Poker bonus is only $500

Review

As a partner of Ignition, Bovada has all the same poker games and players as its sister site though Bovada is by far the elder of these two siblings. What sets Bovada apart, though, is that it lets you bet on sports and horses too within the attached sportsbook and racebook. Even wagers on esports, politics, and television programs are possible in addition to more standard fare, like NFL football, MLB baseball, NCAA college athletics, et cetera.

Bovada is compatible with mobile (iOS, Android, and more) and desktop systems (PC + Mac). The poker bonus is 100% up to $500.

ACR Poker

Deposit Methods

Credit Cards, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, Money Transfer

Pros

• Tournaments with massive prize pools
• $10 free bankroll (use bonus code PRB10FREE)
• High-stakes cash games available

Cons

• Long late registration period makes tourneys take forever

Review

ACR Poker is where you want to be if you intend to build up a bankroll from nothing. However, high rollers are also catered to here with some of the biggest dollar-denominated cash games on the internet.

Tournaments are large here with a weekly $300,000 guaranteed event and a $5+ million VENOM several times a year. Recurring tourney series routinely pay out tens of millions.

ACR Poker supports Windows and Mac machines, and there's also a mobile app. Our ACR bonus code PRB10FREE is good for a $10 no deposit bonus. Upon making your first deposit, you'll get 100% up to $2,000.

Coin Poker

Deposit Methods

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, CHP, Polygon, BNB

Pros

• Crypto poker room with the highest traffic figures
• 33% rakeback available

Cons

• No types of poker other than Hold'em, PLO, and 5 Card PLO

Review

Though Coin Poker only hosts a few poker variants, there's great breadth in the stakes offered. Furthermore, this is the leading crypto poker site by player count, and its games are denominated in USDT (Tether).

CoinPoker has software that works with PCs, Macs, Android, and iOS. CoinPoker boasts an exceptional welcome bonus of 150% up to $2,000. Moreover, it is possible to get 33% weekly rakeback if you hold a balance of CHP, CoinPoker's proprietary crypto coin.

Everygame

Deposit Methods

Credit Card, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Lightning Bitcoin, Litecoin

Pros

• 36% rakeback
• Jam-packed promotional calendar

Cons

• Small player headcount

Review

Everygame lacks the bustling lobbies of some of its more-frequented competitors, but where it shines is in the value of its promotional offerings. 36% rakeback is standard, and you'll be able to boost your fortunes even more with the weekly rake races, reload bonuses, overlay tournaments, VIP levels program, and other rewards.

Windows users can install the Everygame Poker download client while those on other hardware can use an Instant Play browser interface to play. The poker welcome bonus is 200% up to $1,000.

SwCPoker

Deposit Methods

Bitcoin

Pros

• Many poker variants offered
• No rake at microstakes

Cons

• Low players volume

Review

SwCPoker is a Bitcoin poker room that spreads, in addition to NL Hold'em and PL Omaha, Razz, HORSE, Open Face Chinese, 2-7 Triple Draw, and a whole host of other poker variants. Traffic is low however. You can get up to 50% rakeback based upon your playing volume.

Nitrobetting

Deposit Methods

Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, Paypal, Visa

Pros

• Poker opens up right in your web browser
• Speedy withdrawals

Cons

• Only NLHE and PLO games
• Low player volume

Review

Nitrobetting requires no download as it runs in your browser. There are only two types of poker here: NLHE and PLO. There’s no welcome bonus here, but you will encounter occasional freerolls.

Facts About California's Poker Industry

We've gathered together information on poker in California, including B&M poker rooms, famous California poker players, and more. Keep reading below.

Live Poker

While California isn’t known only for gambling like Las Vegas or Atlantic City, it actually has larger poker rooms than either of those cities. These include both commercial cardrooms and tribal casinos.

Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, for example, is the largest brick-and-mortar card room in the entire world. It has more than 100 tables where NL Hold'em, Limit Hold'em, and Omaha are spread. The Commerce hosts many prominent poker series, like the L.A. Poker Classic, the California State Poker Championship, and the L.A. Poker Open.

Some of the other large poker rooms in California are the Parkwest Bicycle Casino, also in Los Angeles, the Gardens Casino in Compton, Bay 101 Casino in San Francisco, and Golden West Casino in Bakersfield. Dozens of smaller venues for the game exist too.

History of Poker in California

There was not much of interest in California during its early history as part of first the Spanish Empire and then Mexico. The discovery of gold in 1848 changed all that, and San Francisco became a major gambling center, hosting such establishments as the Parker House where prospectors, miners, and other ne'er-do-wells could indulge in their fondness for poker and other gambling.

Toward the end of the 19th century, anti-gambling forces were successful in shutting most of these places down. A law specifically targeted “stud-horse” poker although draw poker was later ruled a game of skill and thus permitted.

Gardena became a center for California cardrooms in the '40s albeit with many restrictions and rules they had to follow. A court ruling in the '90s found that nobody knew what “stud-horse” poker was and therefore, all forms of poker were legal. The combination of this decision and the proliferation of tribal cardrooms in recent decades has made California one of the places in the United States with the most opportunities for playing live poker.

Famous Poker Players From California

With a huge population and many arenas for playing poker live, California has produced a massive coterie of famous pro poker players. Among them are WSOP Main Event winners Chris “Jesus” Ferguson (2000), Jamie Gold (2006), and Jerry Yang (2007). Seven-bracelet winner Men “The Master” Nguyen and Brian Rast, who has more than $25 million in live tournament earnings, also hail from The Golden State.

Alternatives to Registering Your Poker Account in California

If you are lucky enough to have another address in a nearby state, be it your business address, summer home, second apartment, family home, etc, you may have other online poker options available to you.

Here is a list of the states that border California and Professional Rakeback's review on each of them: Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. We know many of you may have access to properties in other states, however, and if you do, you'll want to take a look at our US Online Poker guide, where you can learn about all 50 states and navigate to our specific review of any state of your choosing.

If you have found the information in this guide helpful, please consider sharing it with a friend or family member. Many people are ignorant as to their legal poker options; please help enlighten them!

Responsible Gaming

Here at Professional Rakeback, we feel that by playing online poker, California residents can test their mettle in a fun and stimulating environment. However, there are those for whom poker becomes more than a game and starts to negatively impact other areas of their lives. If you think that you might have a problem, we urge you to check out the following places where you can get assistance:

• Gamblers Anonymous
• National Problem Gambling Helpline
• California Department of Public Health Office of Problem Gambling
• CALPG

BACK TO TOP

We strive to maintain this information and update it frequently with our research. However, we are not immune to making mistakes or omitting information that you, dear reader, may find of use. If you have any further questions not addressed in this guide or have noted any discrepancies or inaccuracies, we urge you to contact us with your questions and concerns so that we may swiftly address them!