US Gambling
In today’s blog post we’re going to tackle the American conundrum that is the different gambling ages in the United States. While in the UK, we tend to keep things simple (the legal gambling age in the UK is 18), in the US, state governments like to be difficult. However, we’ll help you clear things up, by posting the current legal gambling age for places such as Las Vegas and Ontario, in Canada.
Before delving into the legislative world (or should that be nightmare?) of gambling ages in the US, it would be useful to note that while on some states you can gamble at 18, you can’t actually wager in casinos. The UK comparison to this would be that while you can buy National Lottery tickets when you’re 16, you can’t head into a casino until your 18. However, because the UK tends to adhere to one set of rules, the legislation which differentiates the National Lottery from casinos appears a lot more logical than the 50 odd pieces of different legislation in the states.
Anyway, below you’ll find out more about the legal gambling ages in both the US and Canada, as well as how old you have to be before you can actually visit a casino.
California
The legal gambling age in California is 18, if you intend on buying lottery tickets and playing charity bingo games. However, if you wish to play in a casino, in some you have to be 18, whereas in others 21. We recommend checking before you enter.
Canada
We actually receive a lot of e-mails off prospective players who wish to know the legal age to gambling specifically in Ontario, Canada. Yes, we know Canada isn't part of the US, but we might as well two birds with one stone. Anyway, we can tell you that if you wish to buy a lottery ticket then the age limit is 18, however, if you wish to wager in a casino, you have to be 19.
Florida
Florida, much like California, adheres to rather strange gambling age regulation. To play the lottery and charity bingo games, you have to be 18, however some casinos will allow 18 year olds to wager, whereas in others you have to be 21. We recommend checking before you visit a Florida based casino.
Las Vegas
In Nevada, so therefore Las Vegas, the gambling age for all types of gambling is set at 21. If you’re thinking of playing at a casino in Vegas, wait until your 21; if you’re below this age and manage to win a prize on a slot, unless the casino has valid proof of age they won’t award you your winnings.
Minnesota
In Minnesota, the minimum gambling age is 18, although, again, we recommend checking before you visit a casino. Similarly, to take part in state lotteries and charity games, you have to be 18.
We’ve included the gambling ages for states which we’re most commonly asked about, however, if you we’ve missed out a state which you wish to know the legal gambling age for, leave a comment and we’ll look it up for you.
