Will California Legalize Online Casinos in 2022?
Online casinos are becoming more and more popular in the mainstream, gambling culture. As of 2020, the American online gambling market has grown considerably, especially when it comes to online betting and poker. In the six states where all online gambling is legal, the iGaming industry is booming, with an ever-increasing number of people moving away from land-based casinos and spending most of their gambling time online.
It is easy to see why gamblers prefer online gambling. For one, gambling online does not require you to dress up. The fact of the matter is, with online gambling, you could play a round of poker while in your pajamas, sitting on your desk with a hot cup of coffee, or over breakfast. Thanks to advancing technology, most online gambling can now be done through any electronic device, which means gamblers can even play their favorite games on the go.
So What’s the Problem?
The trouble comes for Americans, as it turns out that, online gambling is illegal in quite several states. Depending on what form of gambling we are talking about, online gambling is illegal in most American states. For example, California, a state that has some of the harshest gambling laws, forbids online gambling.
Luckily, Californian laws make a distinction between different types of online gambling. This means, for example, that Californian gamblers are free to play online poker, however, they are not allowed to place online bets on sports matches, and most other online gambling is illegal.
Where in the USA is Gambling Online Legal?
As we said previously, there are very few places in the USA where gamblers are free to do all three major forms of online gambling (that being poker, casinos, betting). In fact, out of the 51 states, only 6 allow gamblers full freedom when it comes to online gambling. Among them, the one with the largest iGaming industry is New Jersey, where the online gambling scene is booming. The states that have followed New Jersey’s footsteps are Pennsylvania, Michigan, Connecticut, West Virginia, and Delaware, and all of them have seen a boom in the online gambling and betting industry.
The success of online gambling in the aforementioned states might inspire a couple of others to legalize the practice in their borders, however, we can’t know when this change will come.
Will California Legalize Online Gambling in 2022?
So, to answer the question that the title poses, we can’t be certain that the Californian government will legalize online gambling this year. From what it seems, it is very unlikely that 2022 will be the year when California makes the practice available to its residents. However, this doesn’t mean that change will never come. As we said before, the iGaming industry has been growing steadily in recent years, and more and more states are, at the very least, becoming interested. While it is unlikely that California will legalize iGaming in 2022, it is also very likely that it will be legalized soon.