San Jose Sportsbooks

With over 1 million residents calling the historical Bay Area destination home, San Jose is the third most populous city in California but there are still not any San Jose sportsbooks. Given that it’s the cultural and political center of Silicon Valley, you’d think there would be a number of nearby options for gambling and sports betting. Unfortunately, that’s only partially true, as the only gambling venues in San Jose proper are card rooms, of which there are two. There are no San Jose sportsbooks at these locations yet, but the state is actively considering legislation on whether or not to expand the scope of California gaming to include sports wagering now that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA, 1992-2018) has been officially overturned by the US Supreme Court.

For the time being, the only San Jose sportsbooks currently available to California residents living in the Bay Area are located online at offshore sportsbooks like Bovada, SportsBetting, 5Dimes, BetDSI, BetOnline, and BookMaker. These have been in steady operation serving CA customers for the last 20 years or so, and all of them have maintained their reputations for excellence by offering consistent, updated lines, fair odds, and massive wagering selections to their many customers. Joining any (or all!) of these California sportsbooks is always free, and payouts are always prompt and guaranteed.

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Is Sports Betting Currently Legal In San Jose, California?

Sports betting in California is currently legal in San Jose, but your only option to participate in the pastime is to use the aforementioned online sportsbooks. While no land-based California bookmaker is currently authorized to offer sports betting odds within the state’s borders, it is not a crime for individual San Jose residents to gamble on sports over the Internet.

For local sports wagering options, there could be several San Jose sportsbooks opening up shop in the near future, with many analysts expecting the state to pass the requisite legislation allowing this sometime in 2023 or earlier. The state’s current tribal compacts do not include sports wagering exclusivity in any capacity, however, and the many tribes in California that operate existing casinos will likely attempt to block any legislation that does not grant them the right to offer sports betting in California on their reservations. While not remotely a death blow to the pro-sports-betting movement in CA, this hurdle is likely the chief reason that CA sports betting laws have not already been passed and why not much action has been taken on the sole sports betting bill that was introduced in the Assembly.

What Is Stopping San Jose From Having A Land-Based Sportsbook?

At this point, the only thing stopping San Jose sportsbooks from being land-based is the regulations being set from legislators or the gaming commission. The sports betting bill ACA 16 would authorize legislators to do just that, but the bill has not passed through its legislative chamber quite yet. They also will need to implement laws in support of the industry but this can be accomplished over a legislative session (or two). With differing ideas and opinions of how legal sports betting in California should be offered, legislators may have quarrels when it comes to the regulations. Even further, with exclusivity rights, the Governor may have to adjust the existing tribal compact, which could open another can of worms. In short, lawmakers and a taxation plan are the only things preventing San Jose from currently offering a land-based sportsbook.

Minimum Legal Age To Bet At San Jose Sportsbooks

The minimum age to wager at San Jose sportsbooks is currently just 18 years old. This is because there is no formal rule on the matter, and the best sportsbooks merely require their users to be at least 18 in order to sign up and bet. For CA tribal casinos, the minimum age for entry is typically 21 years old, though the majority of cardrooms in the state only require their participants to be 18 (albeit some go above and beyond the law by excluding players younger than 21).

Once sports betting lounges and sportsbooks are opened at California’s in-state locales, there’s a good chance that the minimum legal age to use these will be 21, as that’s been the trend among most states that have already legalized their own sports wagering industries.

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Best Sportsbooks In San Jose, CA

The best sportsbooks in San Jose, CA, are currently only available at online books (Bovada, SportsBetting, etc.), where any California resident aged 18 or older can freely sign up and place their wagers in full compliance with state and federal law. That said, once sports wagering in California makes its way to brick-and-mortar locations in and around San Jose, the options will surely skyrocket, as both cardrooms and tribal casinos should be able to offer comprehensive sportsbooks to all their millions of CA customers.

Local San Jose cardrooms that will offer sportsbooks are the Casino M8trix and Bay 101, but for other venues, SJ residents will have to drive out of town. Nearby venues like the Cache Creek Casino and the Table Mountain Casino are 120 miles north and 150 miles east of San Jose respectively, and these are currently the closest casinos to the big city that actually provide proper slot machine gaming to their customers. (Under CA law, slot machines may only be offered at Class III tribal casinos.)