How Old Do You Have To Be To Gamble?

States can allow different forms of gambling within their respective borders, and there is a patchwork of state laws for the legal gambling age.

Since 2018, there has been a historic expansion of legal gambling in the U.S. More than three dozen jurisdictions allow some form of sports betting, with 29 online sports betting states. Before 2018, single-game sports wagering was confined to Nevada.

Most online gambling formats involving real money require bettors to be 21. This is true of sports betting and online casino gambling in most legal markets. Meanwhile, other online gambling and gambling-adjacent formats, such as horse betting, lottery and DFS, are usually under 20.

Depending on the jurisdiction, retail gambling has the most variety in terms of the legal age. Commercial casinos like the properties in Las Vegas are 21+, while other retail casinos, usually owned or operated by a Native American tribe, allow 18+.

No form of legal gambling is authorized for minors.

Online betting sites usually have a legal age of 21, but exceptions exist.

Below is a list of online sports betting states with their legal age.

• Arizona: 21
• Arkansas: 21
• Colorado: 21
• Connecticut: 21
• Delaware: 21
• Florida: 21
• Illinois: 21
• Indiana: 21
• Iowa: 21
• Kansas: 21
• Kentucky: 18
• Louisiana: 21
• Maine: 21
• Maryland: 21
• Massachusetts: 21
• Michigan: 21
• Nevada: 21
• New Hampshire: 18
• New Jersey: 21
• New York: 21
• Ohio: 21
• Oregon: 21
• Pennsylvania: 21
• Rhode Island: 18
• Tennessee: 21
• Vermont: 21
• Virginia: 21
• Washington, D.C.: 18
• West Virginia: 21
• Wyoming: 18

Note: Besides being above the age minimum, you must be physically located within a state’s borders to bet on sports. You don’t need to live in a state to bet there. You can wager if you’re visiting.

Sportsbooks such as Caesars and BetMGM can set their own minimum age in a state that allows 18+. For example, FanDuel has a uniform minimum age of 21 regardless of market.

How Online Sportsbooks Confirm Your Age

At a retail casino, visitors present an ID for entry. It’s obviously different for online platforms.

When you sign up for an online betting site or casino, you provide personal information to confirm your age. Be prepared to sign up using your first and last name, email, date of birth, social security number and photo ID. The operator will use these details to confirm:

• You are who you say you are
• You are of legal age to gamble in the jurisdiction
• You aren’t creating a duplicate player account

The identity verification process usually takes a few minutes. Most online sports betting states allow this process to be completed remotely. Nevada is a notable exception, where would-be online sports bettors must register in person at a casino.

Six states regulate online casino gambling like blackjack and slots: Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Meanwhile, Nevada allows online poker.

All six online casino states require customers to be 21 or older to play. The age verification process is essentially identical to the process for sports betting.

If you use an online casino by an operator that also offers a sportsbook, you can typically access both types of betting through a single account. A single sign-up will do the job for sports betting and online casino gambling.

Online Poker

Peer-to-peer online poker is legal in Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. All six states set the minimum online poker age at 21.

Thus, PokerStars and WSOP.com, the most popular regulated poker sites in the U.S., have a legal age of 21. Meanwhile, illegal offshore poker sites allow people to play at 18.

Note: Connecticut authorized online poker under state law, but no operators are licensed. Thus, online poker is currently prohibited in Connecticut.

‘Sweepstakes’ Casinos

In states without legal online casinos, you might see so-called “sweepstakes” betting sites. These platforms exploit a controversial loophole in existing law to operate (for now).

Chumba Casino, Pulsz Casino and LuckyLand Slots, for example, use this gray market model. Gamblers purchase virtual currency to play casino games online with a chance to win cash prizes, but you technically do not bet with real money.

Sweepstakes sites say they have a minimum age of 18. This comes into play when you claim cash prizes, as the site will confirm your age and identity before sending your prize.

Commercial land-based casinos set their gambling age at 21. Usually, properties set the age at 21 to comply with state law. Additionally, 21 is the legal drinking age in most states, so casinos set their minimum to allow liquor consumption on the property.

However, tribal casinos often have more wiggle room with the legal gambling age. In many states, tribal-operated casinos set the age slightly lower, usually at 18 or 19 years old. In some cases, this means the properties won’t serve alcohol.

Here are the states that offer 18+ land-based gambling in some capacity:

• California: certain cardrooms and tribal casinos
• Florida: poker and bingo inside casinos
• Idaho: tribal casinos
• Michigan: certain tribal casinos
• Minnesota: certain tribal casinos
• Montana: land-based casinos
• Oklahoma: certain casinos
• Rhode Island: land-based casinos
• Washington: certain tribal casinos
• Wyoming: land-based casinos

Before sports betting expansion, DraftKings and FanDuel were fledgling daily fantasy sports (DFS) operators. They still offer these services in many states, even those without legal sports betting.

Other reputable DFS sites include Thrive Fantasy, Boom Fantasy and Parlay Fantasy.

DFS is allowed in most markets for anyone 18 or above. It’s an alternative if you’re not old enough to bet on sports. There are a few exceptions, though.

Nebraska and Alabama set their DFS minimum age at 19.

Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana and Massachusetts set their minimum at 21.

Horse racing employs pari-mutuel wagering, which means the odds and corresponding payouts can change up to the time a race starts.

This differs from sports betting, where your bet has a set payout when you place the wager. That payout is honored if you win, regardless of any changes between your bet and the start of the event.

As a result, horse racing is subject to different laws. Generally speaking, horse race betting— in person, at off-track betting facilities or via online platforms like TwinSpires or FanDuel Racing—is available to bettors 18 or older.

A few states set the minimum a tad higher. Arizona, Iowa, Nevada and Texas require horse race bettors to be 21 or above.

Lottery games may have astronomical odds, but they’re one of the most common gambling formats in the U.S. Only a handful of states don’t allow lottery gambling, and the vast majority of states that have them set the minimum age at 18.

In most states, you can buy scratch-offs, play Powerball and Mega Millions, or participate in other lottery games at 18.

Nebraska’s minimum age for lottery games is 19. You must be 21 or older in Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana and Mississippi to play lottery games.

Some states allow the lottery to be played online, and they keep the age requirement consistent.