Legal Gambling Age In America
The Gambling Age Limit in Some American States. Here are interesting facts about setting the age limit for gambling in some American states. Alabama law considers it a crime or offense for an adult to bring a kid or teen along to gamble. The underage should not be seen anywhere in a gambling venue even if assisted by an adult. Legal Gambling Age in the United States Almost every major milestone in our lives is conditioned by an age requirement. To get married or go to war without your parents’ permission, you have to be 18. Before you can drive, you have to turn 16, with the exception of a few states where you can get a driver’s license at the ripe age of 14. Legal gambling ages are determined on a state by state basis. For example, some states, like Washington, have set a flat age restriction at 18. Other states, like Iowa, require you to wait until you’re 21 before you participate in any gambling activity. 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. For many Americans, the legal gambling age is similar to the legal drinking age—21 years. This limit applies to both Americans and foreigners that visit land-based casinos in the country. So, just because you can gamble at 18 years in the UK doesn’t mean you’ll be given entry in Las Vegas casinos. That said; gambling laws keep changing.
We've compiled this legal online betting guide for US players arranged by state, to provide accurate and up to date information on the legal online gambling status and gaming options available within each US state. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive state gambling directory which will empower players with the information to make informed decisions about online gambling.
This state-specific data will include a look at the state laws governing online gambling opportunities from online casinos, online poker, to online sports betting.
Each individual state is approaching the legalization of online gambling differently, thus it is necessary to detail lawfully available state-licensed options, and sanctioned licensed offshore online gambling opportunities. We also address some of the most commonly asked questions about gambling in each state and provide some helpful resources for players to access. This information can only be covered in depth within each of the state pages we offer, which you can find listed within this guide.
Is Online Gambling Legal In My State?
To avoid confusion, we have marked US states which offer state-regulated gambling options in the table below with a check mark. At this moment in time, eight US states have legalized and regulated online gambling in some form. For example:
Online Poker & Casinos:
- Delaware - Online Poker and Online Casino gambling
- Nevada - Online Poker
- New Jersey - Online Poker, Online Casinos
- Pennsylvania - Online Poker, Online Casinos
- West Virginia - Online Poker, Online Casinos
Online Sports Betting & Fantasy Sports
- Illinois - Legalized Online Sports Betting**
- Indiana - Offers Online Sports Betting
- Iowa - Offers Online Sports Betting
- Massachusetts - Fantasy Sports Allowed
- Mississippi - Online Allowed At Casinos Only
- Montana - Legalized Online Sports Betting**
- Nevada - Online Sportsbooks State-wide
- New Jersey - Online Sportsbooks State-wide
- New York - Allows Fantasy Sports And Domestic Sports Betting
- Oregon - Offers Online Sports Betting
- Pennsylvania - Offers Online and Domestic Sports Betting
- Rhode Island - Offers Online and Domestic Sports Betting
- Tennessee - Offers Online Sports Betting Apps
- West Virginia - Online Sports Betting Allowed State-wide
** Legalized but Pending launch
Online Lottery:
- Georgia - Online Lottery Allowed
- Illinois - Online Lottery Allowed
- Kentucky - Online Lottery Allowed
- Michigan - Online Lottery Allowed
- Minnesota - Online Lottery Allowed
- New Hampshire - Online Lottery Allowed
- Pennsylvania - Online Lottery Allowed
Is Licensed Offshore Gambling Legal In My State?
While the above-mentioned states offer regulated online gambling, they still maintain the option to utilize licensed offshore online options. Nearly all US state residents, except those from Washington or Connecticut, can legally access licensed offshore online gambling platforms to play online casino games, poker, or bet on sports.
This is because no state laws in these other 48 states specifically prohibit or allow it - thus operating in a technical grey area, it is still considered safe to use because it is not likely these states will draft and pass legislation to specifically affect domestic access to licensed offshore gaming.
What Is The Minimum Online Gambling Age in the US?
There is no one minimum gambling age in the US as this is set and regulated by each individual state. The minimum gambling age within each state is affected by various factors such as game selected and licensor. By this, we mean state-regulated online gambling options require domestic players, whether residents or visitors, to abide by the state's minimum gambling age for that form of gambling on land within the state's borders.
However, licensed offshore online platforms which offer casino games, poker, and sports betting can lawfully accept players who are at least 18 years of age or older. These licensed offshore online sites also offer players much more in the way of bonuses and perks and the platforms we recommend are all extremely reputable.
U.S. States Where You Can Legally Gamble At 18 And Up
Below you can learn more about the minimum legal online gambling age by state in the USA.
| AL Offshore Yes:18 | IL Offshore Yes:18 | NE Offshore Yes:18 | SD Offshore Yes:18 |
| AK Offshore Yes:18 | IN Offshore Yes:18 | NV Offshore Yes:18 | SC Offshore Yes:18 |
| AZ Offshore Yes:18 | KS Offshore Yes:18 | NH Offshore Yes:18 | TN Offshore Yes:18 |
| AR Offshore Yes:18 | KY Offshore Yes:18 | NJ Offshore No | TX Offshore Yes:18 |
| CA Offshore Yes:18 | LA Offshore Yes:18 | NM Offshore Yes:18 | UT Offshore Yes:18 |
| CO Offshore Yes:18 | ME Offshore Yes:18 | NY Offshore Yes:18 | VT Offshore Yes:18 |
| CT Offshore No | MD Offshore Yes:18 | ND Offshore Yes:18 | VA Offshore Yes:18 |
| DE Offshore Yes:18 | MA Offshore Yes:18 | NC Offshore Yes:18 | WA Offshore No |
| FL Offshore Yes:18 | MI Offshore Yes:18 | OH Offshore Yes:18 | WV Offshore Yes:18 |
| GA Offshore Yes:18 | MN Offshore Yes:18 | OK Offshore Yes:18 | WI Offshore Yes:18 |
| HI Offshore Yes:18 | MS Offshore Yes:18 | OR Offshore Yes:18 | WY Offshore Yes:18 |
| ID Offshore Yes:18 | MO Offshore Yes:18 | PA Offshore Yes:18 | |
| IA Offshore Yes:18 | MT Offshore Yes:18 | RI Offshore Yes:18 |
Online Gambling Laws in The United States
Gambling laws can be a rather complex topic these days as there are several US federal gambling laws to account for such as the UIGEA, and the Federal Wire Act, as well as, several individual state gambling laws. The reason for this is because the United States DOJ has said that states have the authority to determine their own destiny concerning both land-based and online gambling.
Legal Age For Gambling In America
Afterward, several states moved forward with legalizing some forms of online gambling for their region. Multiple other states are currently in discussions amongst themselves regarding the possibility of embracing this virtual gaming platform in their own territories. As discussed earlier and from what can be read from our laws page, US players outside of WA and CT are permitted access to multiple licensed, certified, and regulated online gambling sites hosted outside of the United States. This is a nice alternative for those players not located in a state with its own regulated form of domestic online gambling.