Legal Gambling Age in the United States

As online gambling starts to open its doors once again, we are going to take a look at how old you need to be to access these online casino sites.

If you’re familiar with the current layout of the online gambling sector in the US, then you will be aware that things aren’t always black and white. The legal gambling age changes across states, which means that laws in one state may differ from another.

As a general rule, most places have limits of 21 years to both sign up for an account and also place a wager. However, these drop to as low as 18 in some states, which is more in line with laws across Europe.

Gambling Age by State

We’ve included a lot of information on this page, but one of the easiest resources is going to be the table below. Within the table, we have included a list of all states and the minimum gambling age for each product.

A key point to note that is some states will range in relation to the product that you want to use. For example, Arkansas has a legal gambling age of 21 and over for casinos, but 18 and over on bingo and lottery products.

Within the table we have included all of the relevant information that you need for checking on US gambling age by state. Some of the boxes include 2 ages and this means that it can come down to the discrepancy of the location.

For example, Washington state law dictates that players must be aged 18 and over. Some casinos and sportsbooks decide that this is too young and instead exercise their right to increase the minimum legal gambling age in their establishments to 21.

Whilst the above scenario is actually quite common, it’s worth noting that they would not be able to do the reverse of this. So, if a state had a legal age of 21 for gambling, a single establishment would not then be able to change their minimum age to 18, for example.

Which State Allow You to Gamble at 18?

As you can see from the data in the table above, there are casinos where the legal gambling age is 18+. What you will find is that there is some separation between the likes of casino gambling and sports, compared with the likes of bingo and lottery.

Most states will not class the two recreational activates in the same category. For that reason, many states will require those playing casino games, betting on sports, or playing poker to be aged 21 or over, and those playing bingo or the lottery to be aged 18 or over.

Below we have included several states that are the age of 18 across the board:

• Minnesota
• Montana
• Oklahoma
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• Washington
• Wyoming

With a number of these states, there are caveats that we need to mention. Some states will have age limits that range depending on where the person wants to gamble, as well as the types of gambling and casino games they’re interested in. Again, this links to the example that we spoke about earlier with Washington allowing a gambling age of 18+, but most establishments enforcing a 21+ rule.

When you’re looking at the legal gambling age in the US, casino and sports betting will always set the benchmark as the highest age for any gambling product. What we mean by that is that in zero states across the country is the legal gambling age for bingo, lottery, poker, daily fantasy sports, or horse race betting higher than sports or casino.

One of the most common reasons why persons under 21 (usually 18+) can gamble in some states is down to tribal law. Minnesota is a good example of this, and the state has an agreement in place with tribal casinos that allow persons aged 18+ to enter and play casino games.

Legal Sports Betting Age

Sports betting is just starting to get back to where it was within the country. Sports betting is still illegal in many states, which makes it hard to access.

However, these numbers are starting to improve and the online platform is one area that is going to massively take off for sports over the next few years. It’s also worth noting that sports betting and daily fantasy sports are exclusive of each other. Don’t assume that the state has the same minimum age for each product, as this is not always the case.

Most states are 21+ for the minimum age for sports betting. At the time of writing, the only exception to this is that of Rhode Island.

Legal Casino Age

Casinos are much more prominent and accessible than sports betting opportunities. The reason for this is that many casinos are tribal run and whilst most stick to state law, some do have agreements in place to accept players as young as 18 years old.

There are only 7 states where casinos are illegal in the US, with one state (Georgia) currently waiting for legislation to be passed. All states except 9 remaining from those that are legal have a minimum gambling age of 21 to access online casinos or place wagers.

Legal Bingo Age

Bingo is generally a lot more lenient than other forms of gambling. It still gets classed gambling, but most states maintain a legal gambling age of 18+ for bingo.

Legal Poker Age

Poker is a mix of age limitations between 18 and 21 for the most part. The introduction to online has meant that most places have increased the legal age to 21.

With the 18+ rule, these poker rooms are all land-based poker halls, either freestanding or as part of a casino. They are usually tribal run as well, which means that they work with the state to ensure that players who are 18+ can play safely.

Legal Online Gambling Age

With online gambling laws starting to shift across the country, light has been shed on the legal gambling age to access these sites. All licensed casino sites in the US have enforced the 21+ federal law up to this point.

We would be very surprised to see that this changes any time soon either given that one of the key areas many states are battling is the increase in problem gambling amongst underage players. No states have lobbied to have the age lowered and aren’t likely to do so any time soon.

Underage Gambling Laws and Prosecutions

Prosecutions for underage gambling is starting to rise in the US. This has mainly been down to the increase in the online casino sector, but there are strict punishments in place for those caught ignoring gambling regulations.

Like most things in the United States, it depends on what state you are in as to the punishment received. Most start with fines, driver’s license suspensions, and then move through to things like probation, community service, and even jail time.

Regardless of the punishment, a prosecution for underage gambling will go down onto a criminal record depending on the age.

In some cases, where the accused are still classed as children, parents or guardians may be brought in to either serve punishment or for repeat offenses, face punishment themselves. Plea bargains are not an option in most states and will require a court case to be heard to argue a case.

Responsible Gambling and Gambling Companies Role

Responsible gambling is now a massive part of both the online and land-based gambling industry. It’s imperative that everyone involved do all they can to help those in need as well as limit exposure to those who are most vulnerable.

One of the biggest challenges that the industry faces is keeping underage players away from online platforms and out of land-based casinos. One way that they are combatting this is a process called KYC (Know Your Customer). KYC is basically a string of steps that players need to complete in order to gain access to gambling sites. This may include, but is not limited to, proof of ID, proof of address, and even financial documents to prove financial stability.

Players must always follow the law and thoroughly educate themselves on safe gameplay. You can find many helpful resources online, and we encourage you to read our articles about gambling winnings tax in the US as well as our take on gambling strategies before diving into the online casino scene.

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