What is the Legal Gambling Age in USA?

Since legal gambling ages vary by country and state, it is common to ask what the legal gambling age in USA is. In this article we will cover in-person and online gambling age by state. Sometimes, certain types of betting come with their own age restrictions, so we will be discussing this as well.

You can use the navigation links below to jump to the legal gambling age in USA topic that interests you the most. You can also use the search function to find the state you are looking for more information about, since each state differs. Keep in mind that the minimum legal age has been put in place to help you gamble responsibly.

• Gambling Age by State
• Outliers: Legal Age to Gamble
• Online Gambling Age by State

Gambling Age by State

Of course, the most normal question when it comes to gaming in the US is to ask what the gambling rules in your state are. Each state government makes its own rules to an extent. You can see from topics like sports betting that laws can vary wildly from state to state, even between neighboring ones. It is a similar story with gambling ages, though thankfully there is not such a wide range of minimum ages to gamble. In fact, the most common legal ages to gamble are 18, 19 and 21.

In the table below, you can find the minimum gambling age by state.

Outliers: Legal Age to Gamble

As you can see from the table above, most states have just one overall legal gaming age. However, a few have separate ages dependent on the gambling vertical you are participating in. When we look at gambling age by state, we can notice some outliers.

The Lottery Divide

One trend you will notice when looking at the legal gambling age in USA is that for lotto gambling, the minimum age to gamle is usually lower than the overall gambling age or the age for casinos – but why? Some believe this is because playing the lottery is less likely to result in problematic gaming behavior, so younger players are more trusted to take part in it. In a casino for example, results are given instantly.

The other reason has to do with the location of ticket sellers. Lottery is commonly available in public spaces like at gas stations and liquor stores, whereas casinos are separate establishments where only those above the legal gaming limit can enter. So lottery tickets are considered more accessible and less dangerous for minors overall, though they still have a minimum age as well of course.

Some of the states that have separate ages for lottery include: California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon, Tennessee and Virginia. For all of these states, the legal lottery age is 18, and other forms of gaming have a higher age limit.

Sports Betting

Not all states offer legal sports betting yet, though many have bills on the way. It may be possible that more states will therefore separate sports betting and have a different legal age to gamble, similar to how lotto and casino gaming are treated separately by several states. However, at the moment, only three states make such a distinction. That is Tennessee where the sports betting age is 21 but lottery players can buy tickets at 18. The others are New Hampshire and Colorado, which we will explain below.

California Casinos

Another outlier you may notice when looking at our legal gambling age in USA table is that California has not one but two separate betting ages for casinos. Some allow players who are 18 and others set the minimum age at 21. Some might wonder if this has anything to do with laws applying to casinos run by Native American reservations. Indeed, these casinos have slightly different rules. They do not always have to abide by the state age limit regulation.

However, the main reason for this discrepancy is simply to do with where alcohol is served. Casinos often have a rule that table game areas are 21 and over because of the prevalence of alcohol in these areas. It makes it easier for the casino staff to oversee who is drinking, since the legal drinking age is 21 in the state and these laws are extremely strict.

Online Gambling Age by State

With so many differences between types of gaming and their corresponding age minimums, it’s normal to wonder whether online gaming also has a different age limit. The good news is that no, for the most part the age limit for online betting and in-person betting is the same. That is true for West Virginia, Michigan, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the age is 21 across the board.

There are two states where this is not the case and it is useful to know the specific age requirement for online betting. In Colorado and New Hampshire, the age limit for online sportsbooks is 18. The casino age limit in these states is 21, so it is actually easier to access online sports betting there.