Gambling Age by State: How Old To Gamble?

🔞 Legal Gambling Age: How Old Do You Have to be to Gamble in the United States

States in the US follow their laws and regulations for licensed gambling. There is not one federally approved gambling age for all 50 US states. The legal gambling age varies across states and also depends on the type of gambling activity.

There are also tribal casinos and gambling operations that operate under Federal Indian Gaming Regulations and state compacts. These regulations ensure that they have the freedom to define the gambling age. Many tribal casinos offer the lowest gambling age in the US at 18 years. For most of the US, the legal gambling age is 18-21 years, and the answer could vary depending on the state and gambling activity (lottery, online betting, iGaming casinos, and so on).

BonusFinder's gambling guide experts will provide all the details you need about the minimum gambling age requirements in the US. We also offer a state-by-state analysis of gambling laws restricting underage gambling. Find the answers to the 'How old to gamble' and 'Lottery age by state' questions above in the table.

🔞 How Old Do You Have to be to Gamble At a Casino?

You have to check the gambling rules of each state and casino for the answer, as no federal gambling age is universally applied to all states. For online casino use in regulated casino game states (such as Michigan, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey), the age limit is 21 years.

All online casinos and gambling operators verify your account with personal identity documents (such as your driving license, passport, military ID, permanent US residence card, bank account statement for the last 3 months, utility bill of the previous 3 months, IRS tax notification, home loan statement) and Social Security Number before admitting someone as a customer on the site. Players cannot deposit until the account is verified, meaning an individual's registration details, including name, DOB, SSN, and address, are checked before they are allowed to deposit or participate in real money games.

Online sportsbooks in the US also require players to be 21 years old when registering a new account. The gambling age differs for online betting and casinos compared to brick-and-mortar casinos.

Casino Age Limit: Can You Visit a Casino at Age 18?

Here are the states with casinos that are valid for 18-year-olds:

• Michigan: At Indian casinos, the minimum gambling is 18, but it is 21 at Detroit's commercial casinos.
• Minnesota: 18, but limited game selections.
• Montana: Access to tribal casinos is for 18+ in Montana.
• Oklahoma: Oklahoma's tribal casinos are 18+.
• Washington: Washington's tribal casinos are for adults aged 18.
• California: At some CA card rooms and tribal casinos, the legal age is 18.
• Florida: 18 for tribal casinos, poker and bingo but 21 for casino games.
• Georgia: No physical land-based casino sites; 18 for offshore gambling cruises.
• Idaho: 18 for most Idaho casinos; some properties have a 21+ age eligibility.
• Wyoming: Tribal casinos are 18+ in Wyoming.

Can You Create an Account at an Online Casino at Age 18?

No, the legal gambling age requirement at licensed online casinos in different US states is 21. Online sportsbook operations in other US states also stipulate 21 years as the gambling age requirement.

Any online casino site admitting 18-year-olds is an offshore casino not licensed for gaming in any US state. Please check the casino licensing before creating an account at such offshore sites. Your account is subject to KYC Verification at casino sites.

Can I Gamble in a Nevada Casino if I am 18?

You will not be allowed due to the casino age limit requirement. A person must be at least 21 years old to gamble at a Tribal casino in Nevada. NV gambling is unlikely to see support for 18+ gambling because it is a complicated issue involving alcoholism and problem gambling. Also, Nevada has no laws or regulations requiring casino businesses to have self-exclusion programs for responsible gambling.

Tribal casinos can serve complimentary alcohol, and smoking is permitted on the property. The state has active tribal-state gaming compacts with four tribes. These tribes have the exclusive right to regulate Class III gaming on tribal reservations.

What is the Social Casino Age Requirement?

Sweepstakes and social casinos require users to be 18 years old. Social gaming based on sweepstakes laws in the US follows sweepstake promotion laws in different states. Some states do not allow any sweepstakes in casino gaming, namely Washington, Idaho, Nevada, and Michigan. Sweepstakes laws and social casinos are a newly evolving gaming category in the US, and much remains a gray area. Check the local laws before playing.

Sweepstakes gaming at social casinos is free but age limit is enforced through account verification process with identity documents.

• High 5 Casino: 18
• McLuck Casino: 18
• Wow Vegas: 18
• Pulsz: 18

🚫 Can Online Casinos Have Different Gambling Age Requirements?

Online casinos such as BetMGM, Caesars Palace, or FanDuel operate under a licensing regime that varies from state to state. Online gambling laws provide age requirements and other mandates. Online casinos have to follow the rules set by the laws. They cannot create their own rules. For example, all top online casinos in the US require patrons to be 21 years old when they register a new account.

⚡ Lottery Age by State

The minimum age requirement in most states is 18 years for lottery gaming. Lotteries such as the Mega Millions & Powerball are common in the US. There are only a few states disallowing lotteries or scratch-offs.

The state of Nebraska's legal age for lottery games is 19. To buy lotteries, you must be 21 or older in AZ, IA, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Age requirements remain unchanged even if the state allows online lottery purchases and play.

⚡ Gambling Age for Horse Racing

Horse racing employs pari-mutuel wagering. The pari-mutuel betting system or pool betting puts all bets of a particular type together in a pool. Then taxes and the house commission are deducted, and payout odds are calculated by dividing the pool among all winning bets. The odds and corresponding payouts can change when a race starts. The pari-mutuel system is used to bet on horse racing, greyhound racing, jai alai, and some other events of relatively short duration in which the participants finish in a ranked order.

As a result, horse race betting is subject to different laws in different states. The age limit for horse race betting is 18 years. It can be for in-person or at off-track betting facilities or via online racing platforms like TwinSpires or FanDuel Racing.

A few states have a slightly higher minimum gambling age limit for pari-mutuels. If you are in Arizona, Iowa, Nevada, or Texas, you will be required to be 21 or above.

⚡ Comparison: How Old Do You Have to Be to Legally Gamble in Other Countries?

Not all countries are the same when it comes to the official gambling age. Also, visitors and citizens or locals can have different age requirements.

• China: Gambling in mainland China has been illegal since the Communist Party took reign in the country in 1947. Hong Kong and Macau are known as global legal gambling destinations. If you are from Macau, you must be 21 years old. If you are visiting, you can be 18 years old.
• United Kingdom: 18 years old; 16 years for lotteries and soccer pools.
• Japan: The minimum age is 20. Gambling itself is not legal except for racing horses and autos.
• Brazil: Illegal since 1948; some exceptions are horseracing on tracks.
• India: 21; different states have different provincial laws. Only two states have legal online gambling.
• Canada: Blanket permission to gamble for those 19 or older. The same goes for sweepstakes casinos.
• New Zealand: 20
• Australia: 18; live betting and online casinos are illegal.
• Russia: 18; online gambling is not legal.
• Europe: Mostly 18, exceptions are there. For Belgium, Germany, Greece, and Lithuania, the legal age is 21. In Denmark and Estonia, it's only 16 years. Spain and France: 18. Portugal: 18 for tourists, 21 for locals.

🚨 Who Regulates the Gambling Industry and Prevents Underage Gambling in the US?

State gambling authorities license and regulate online casinos, physical casinos, sports betting, and other gambling activities. There are also age requirements to hold a gaming license, become a vendor, or be an employee of a casino property.

Each state in the US has its own set of laws to prohibit or regulate the gambling industry. Usually, a Gaming Control Board, a Lottery Commission, or a Racing Commission oversees the real money gambling in the state. The federal government allows the states to exercise control, as gambling laws are state responsibilities. At the same time, many forms of illegal gaming constitute federal crimes.

Some US gambling regulatory agencies in different states are:

• Arizona Department of Gaming
• Arkansas Racing Commission
• California Gambling Control Commission
• Colorado Division of Gaming
• Connecticut Lottery
• Delaware Gaming Control Board
• Florida Lottery
• Idaho State Racing Commission
• Illinois Racing Board
• Indiana Gaming Commission
• Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission
• Kentucky Department of Charitable Gaming
• Maryland Racing Commission
• Michigan Gaming Control Board
• Minnesota Racing Commission
• The Mississippi Gaming Commission
• National Indian Gaming Commission
• Nebraska Lottery
• Nevada Gaming Commission and Gaming Control Board
• New Hampshire Lottery
• NJCasino Control Commission
• New Mexico Gaming Control Board
• New York Gaming Commission (NYS)
• Ohio Casino Control Commission
• Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission
• Oregon Racing Commission
• South Dakota Commission on Gaming
• Texas Lottery Commission (Lottery)
• Virginia Charitable Gaming Commission
• Washington State Lottery
• West Virginia Lottery

How to Report Underage Gambling Activity

There is a portal to report suspicious gambling or underage gambling activity on regulator websites. For example, Michiganders and others can report illegal gambling activity at this link.

Michigan anonymous tip helpline number is 1-888-314-2682, and the email address is [email protected] if anyone wants to report irresponsible marketing or underage gaming. Anybody can contact the authorities in different states to enforce responsible gambling codes. One can also report a violation on the National Indian Gaming Commission website.

Last updated: 04/21/2025