How to sports gamble in Los Angeles?

VPN
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I’ve been wanting to make some money by betting on football and basketball but I live in California and I’m not sure if the laws allow it . I’ve heard mixed statements from people here . Some says it’s impossible but I’ve met quite a few people who are able to gamble from their phones or laptop .

I’ve heard of some websites that let you gamble no matter where you are . Can I use them without a vpn?

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Even if it was legal, which it isn’t and which you can’t circumvent merely with a VPN, it would be a way to lose money, not make money.

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Sadly sports betting is not legal in California, so you won’t be able to use regulated sportsbook sites like DraftKings or Barstool Sportsbook. You can still use other unofficial/unregulated platforms to place bets, but the process will be different depending the platform. Also a VPN will not help you regardless of whether you place bets on a regulated sportsbook or an unofficial website. Regulated sportsbooks require you to verify your identity and home address, and if your information doesn’t match up with what they’re able to verify on their end, they won’t let you in. Furthermore, an unregulated unofficial sportsbook won’t have any location restrictions, so unless you want to be extra secure for whatever reason, a VPN won’t be of any help here either.

 

The most popular unregulated sportsbook to my knowledge is Bovada.lv. It operates very similarly to any other regulated sportsbook; you will be asked to deposit some money into your account, which you can then use to place bets. If you go up some amount of money, you can cash out in either Bitcoin or via e-check (if I remember correctly). If you lose all your money, you’ll need to deposit more to continue placing bets.

If you just want to dip your toe into sports betting, I would suggest starting out on Bovada.lv. I haven’t used Bovada in forever, but if I remember correctly the only downside is you are limited to cashing out your winnings via cryptocurrency or e-check, which is a bit clunkier and takes time for you to see those funds. Other than that it’s very easy to use.

Otherwise, you can do what I do and sign up with one of your friends who operates a sportsbook. This is a legal gray area, in that it’s not officially regulated or technically “legal”, but the only way you’d get caught is if you make a ton of money and don’t declare it on your taxes, so unless you’re betting tens of thousands of dollars every week, you most likely won’t get in any legal trouble.

  • With these types of websites, you place bets directly with your bookie. Your bookie will give you a certain amount of credit each week (e.g. $1000), and at the end of each week you and your bookie will exchange money via Venmo, Cashapp, etc. depending on how much you go up or down that week.
    So for example, if you start with $1000 in credit each week, then you lose some bets and go down $100, your total credit will be at $900 at EOW, but your balance will be at $-100. You can still use that $900 credit to try and dig out/break even, but whatever you end up being negative at the end of the week, your bookie will come knocking for you to pay up. Likewise, if you go up $100 in one week, your total credit will be at $1100, but your balance will be at +$100, so your bookie will pay you $100. In either case, your total credit will go back to $1000 at the start of the new week.
  • If you don’t personally know anyone who operates a book, reach out to any of your friends that has a bookie and see if you can be added to theirs. Note that if you get added to a book and refuse to pay up if you go down $200, not only does that reflect badly on you and your friend, but your friend that referred you to the bookie will most likely be liable for the amount you refused to pay. So don’t ghost your friend/bookie.

 

For reference, I am an avid sports bettor, and I live in a state where sports betting is not legal, so I place bets directly with my bookie through a website called BigAction.ag. The website is essentially just an interface that lists all the betting lines available for each sport and links my login information to a set balance that I can place bets with. The website does not directly oversee the transfer of money between my bookie and myself; rather we take care of that outside of the website, via Venmo, Cashapp, etc.

 

Whatever you end up doing, always gamble responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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What’s up guys! I’m a local book in SoCal. Hit me up on my instagram if you have any questions! @Mr_Gager