In the United Kingdom the legal ages for gambling are as follows:
Sports Betting / Bookmakers
Casino Games & Gaming Machines
Lottery
Scratch Cards
Football Pools
Gambling Age Limit & Regulations
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Who Makes The Rules?
Gambling within the UK is regulated by the UK Gambling Commission on behalf of the government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the rules under which it is regulated are set down by specific legislation.
What’s The Key Legislation?
Those rules include the legal ages for all of the different types of gambling and it is the Gambling Act 2005, passed by the then Labour government, which is the currently active and relevant piece of legislation.
What Does The Legislation Say?
The rules are set down clearly in Part 4 of the act which is entitled ‘Protection of Children and Young Persons’. The act defines children as being aged under 16 and young persons as being aged under 18.
As such, it sets down that lotteries, scratch cards and football pools are legal for those aged over 16 whilst all other forms of gambling are only legal for those aged over 18. Online betting, therefore, falls into the second category and is illegal for anyone aged under 18.
What Are The Punishments?
What Part 4 of the act also sets down in some detail is what constitutes illegal activity when it comes to gambling providers serving underage punters.
The principle offences in this area are defined as if an individual…
invites, causes or permits a child or young person to gamble’ 2005 Gambling Act
Or if that individual…
‘invites or permits a child or young person to enter premises in which any kind of gaming licence is in effect.’ 2005 Gambling Act
Punishment is also determined by the act and the individual will be liable upon conviction to one or both of the following:
‘imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks’ 2005 Gambling Act
Online Gambling For 18 Year Olds
‘a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale’ 2005 Gambling Act
In the UK, level 5 on the standard scale of criminal fines is the highest possible level and does not have an upper limit, meaning that there is no defined maximum fine.
How Do Sites Check You Are Old Enough?
As strict as the penalties described above are, there is one defence against charges of serving underage gamblers which the Gambling Act 2005 also lays down. That is if the gambling provider ‘took all reasonable steps to determine the individual’s age, and…reasonably believed that the individual was not a child.’
It is for that reason, therefore, that online betting sites require customers to confirm that they are over 18 when they sign up and that they can conduct their own checks to verify a customer’s age.
Those checks often involve requesting a copy of ID documentation from the customer and limiting their account until the documentation is provided.
What Documents Sites Can Ask For:
- The customer’s passport.
- The customer’s photo card driving licence.
- A household bill in the customer’s name.
- A national ID card with the customer’s name and photograph.
- A credit or debit card in the customer’s name or a recent statement.
What the legal gambling age is depends on the state in which you live. Based on the powers of the states, each state's rights, and the lawmakers utilizing these rights, these ages can vary. the variance comes into play with different forms of gambling, different states, and, in the case of online gambling, the age requirement offered by a gambling site. While this may seem complicated with so much information to keep track of, this is not exactly the case - age requirements in gambling are very easy to comprehend, provided you know where to look.
Unfortunately, not every single state has actually listed the age requirement for gambling in their code of laws. It is further complicated by the fact that some states allow smaller jurisdictions, such as counties and cities, to establish their own legal ages. For the most part, we are only going to worry about each state's individual rules, as well as the rules of the different gambling sites in question. We have looked into this issue on a state by state basis, and we are going to tell you flat out that the age restriction for legal online gambling in the USA is fixed at two numbers - 18 and 21.
CHECK HERE FOR A LIST OF GAMBLING SITES THAT ACCEPT USA PLAYERS
USA Sportsbooks - USA Casinos - USA Poker Sites
| What's The Legal Gambling Age??? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama - 21 | Hawaii - 21 | Massachusetts - 21 | New Mexico - 21 | South Dakota - 21 |
| Alaska - 18 | Idaho - 18 | Michigan - 21 | New York - 18 | Tennessee - 21 |
| Arizona - 21 | Illinois - 21 | Minnesota - 18 | North Carolina - 18 | Texas - 21 |
| Arknsas - 21 | Indiana - 21 | Mississippi - 21 | North Dakota - 21 | Utah - 21 |
| California - 21 | Iowa - 21 | Missouri - 21 | Ohio - 21 | Vermont - 18 |
| Colorado - 21 | Kansas - 18 | Montana - 21 | Oklahoma - 18 | Virginia - 21 |
| Connecticut - 21 | Kentucky - 21 | Nebraska - 21 | Oregon - 21 | Washington - 18 |
| Delaware - 21 | Louisiana - 21 | Nevada - 21 | Pennsylvania - 21 | West Virginia - 21 |
| Florida - 21 | Maine - 18 | New Hampshire - 21 | Rhode Island - 18 | Wisconsin - 21 |
| Georgia - 21 | Maryland - 21 | New Jersey - 21 | South Carolina - 18 | Wyoming - 18 |
Online Gambling For 16 Year Olds Toddlers
Do Gambling Ages Differ Between Sites And States?
Barring a few exceptions, you will have to be 21 in order to legally gamble. This is the case in nearly every single state. Some states allow 18 year olds to gamble. Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming all have gambling ages of 18.
Every other state in the Union has fixed their gambling age at 21, and you cannot get around this in any way. If you attempt to do so you are aiming at serious trouble, including fines, having your money confiscated, and possibly arrest, though the latter is not likely.
There is one point of confusion that is universal in online gambling. This lies between the age required by your gambling site and the gambling age required by your state. In some cases, one will allow gamblers to begin at a younger age than the other. In the event that these ages differ from one another, you have to go with the gambling age that is higher.
For instance - your casino allows 18 year olds, but your state requires you to be 21. That means you cannot join unless you are 21, as per your state's regulations. On the other hand, if your state will allow 18 year olds but that particular gambling site requires you to be 21, you will have to be 21 - regardless of your state's requirements. This is the only real point of confusion, and it can be easily bypassed.
Age Requirement For Online Gambling Sites
As you will come to find, there are gambling age restrictions at the gambling sites you visit. These gambling ages requirements will be stipulated in the terms and condtions section of the site, or some variation of the rules of the site. These requirements are very important, and strictly enforced by the sites themselves.
One thing we can tell you not to do is attempt to gamble underage - be it online or in a brick and mortar venue. Even if you can enter the website or join up with pme, you will ultimately be going down a path you cannot finish walking. If you join a gambling site that you are not old enough to play with, be aware that they are fully entitled to confiscate your money.
No one likes losing, and losing without even having a chance to win is never fun. We have compiled the legal gambling ages in every state, so we recommend you take a look at these before you start to gamble.
It's best consult your local laws to find out the gambling age after you have checked with, and at least are old enough to gamble at the online casino or sportsbook you have chosen. If you meet the online gambling site but not the state, you are still not 'legally' allowed to wager regardless of where it operates. Getting caught illegally gambling online is not something that you want to have happen, as you will be stripped of accounts, money, and perhaps more.
We do not condone underage gambling and encourage all players to get informed. The age of gambling legally online is still a debated issue, with many states in the U.S. requiring bettors to be at least 21 years old. We do not foresee that changing in the near future though, if at all.
Find the legal gambling age for every state here.