Gambling Age Around the World โ€“ Legal Age Limit

In this article, weโ€™ll take a closer look at the minimum gambling age in different locations around the world. Be advised that each country has their own laws concerning the minimum age at which someone can gamble. For ease of use, please take advantage of our quick navigation below:

In the coming sections, we will be going over the gambling age limits in each country. Keep in mind that some locations will have a different casino age limit than other forms of gambling. Keep an eye out for our full list of gambling age limits around the world after which we will continue with a more in-depth look into the UK and US law regarding gambling age restrictions.

Gambling Age Limits Around the World

In this section, we would like to show you a table of the gambling age restrictions in countries with a more dominant gambling scene. The information on display will cover all types of wagering, which will include the casino age requirements, sports betting legal ages, lottery age restrictions and everything else. Please bear in mind that gambling is not legal in all countries. In some places there are only a few types of wagering available, which will also have its own requirements.

Country Legal Gambling Age
Australia 18+
New Zealand 20+ For Casinos, 18+ Everything Else
United Kingdom 18+, 16+ For Lottery
Spain 18+
Czech Republic 18+
Belgium 21+
Germany 18+
Italy 18+
Greece 21+
China Only Lottery Legal (18+)
India 21+
Macau 21+
Japan 20+
Malaysia 21+
Philippines 21+ For Casinos, 18+ For Lottery
Russia 18+
South Korea 19+
Egypt 21+
Namibia 21+
Nigeria 20+
South Africa 18+
Canada 18+ and 19+ Depending on Location
Mexico 18+
United States 18+ or 21+ Depending on State
South America 18+ or 21+

Legal Gambling Age in the UK

The Legal Gambling Age in the UK

The legal gambling age in the United Kingdom is 18 years old. This applies to most gambling activities that are available to UK players, such as casinos, racetracks, sports betting, bingo and online wagering. There is only one exception to this law, which is the legal gambling age for players participating in the National Lottery, football pools and any other lotteries. You can participate in them as soon as you are 16 years of age.

Gambling Form Age Limit
Casino 18
Category D Gambling Machines No Limit
Other Gambling Machines 18
National Lottery 16
Scratch Cards 16
Football Pools 16
Private (Non-Commercial) Betting No Limit
Equal Chance Gaming No Limit
Entertainment Prize Gaming No Limit

Nowadays the UK is very accepting of gambling activities thanks to its long history with the industry. There are many adverts and marketing campaigns that aim to encourage people to get involved and place wagers on their favourite sport teams or take advantage of casino bonus offers. Of course, there are numerous types of machines that do not have age limits placed on them, such as teddy grabbers and coin pushers.

US Gambling Age

For a long time, gambling in the US has been either banned and limited to Nevada and Atlantic City, or with its head underneath the waters of the grey market. In 2018, the US Supreme Court paved the way towards legalizing all types of gambling in the United States. There are many states that have already legalised wagering in casinos and sports betting. Unlike UK gambling age requirements, the US gambling age requirements are either for players to be 18 years old or 21 years old depending on which state is in topic.

Gambling Age Requirements in the USA

List of States Where 18 Year Olds Can Play at Casinos

There are 22 states that will allow players at the age of 18 to place bets, but not all of them. In only 4 states can 18-year olds place all types of wagers, which are Idaho, Wyoming, Minnesota and Iowa. If you are 21 years old and over, you can enjoy the full plethora of gambling activities in more than 35 states. In case you are interested in the casino age requirements, then check out our list below for the states which allow 18-year olds to play.

  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Idaho
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Minnesota
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • Oklahoma
  • Ohio
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Dakota
  • Washington
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming

You Can Give Online Casino Gambling a Try

There are many countries in the world, where land-based gambling establishments do not exist or are scarce. This is why it is a great idea, if you are covering the gambling age requirements of your country, to play at online casinos. You can enjoy a wide plethora of excellent casino games, such as roulette. Thatโ€™s why we have created our best roulette sites list, so that you can pick out your favourite. For Norwegian players, we also have a page dedicated to the best online roulette casinos in Norway that you should check out.

In case you are looking for something more, which will give you a fuller gambling experience, then we have you covered. We have made the necessary research and with the help of our team of experts, we created a list of the top casino sites in the UK. You can rest assured that each entry is completely safe, secure and will offer you the best quality the gambling market can offer.

Frequently Asked Questions About Gambling Age Limits

As our article is coming to an end, we would like to give you a short summary of what we have said up to this point before moving on to our FAQ section. As you can tell, the legal gambling age in most countries hovers between 18 years old and 21 years old. We recommend always checking exactly what the age restrictions are for your location, as there are cases like in the USA, where each state government has different viewpoints on the subject. Of course, there are locations, such as the UK, where some forms of gambling require you to be at least 16 years of age.

๐Ÿ—บ๏ธ๏ธ What is the legal gambling age in each country?

As we mentioned in our list of gambling age limits worldwide it really depends on the country as the legal age varies. In most countries, you will have access to wagering when you reach the legal gambling age of 18+, while in others 21+ will be required. The two main locations we have chosen as an example are the UK (18+) and the USA, where the age varies between 18 and 21 depending on the state.

โ“ What is the legal gambling age in the UK?

For most forms of gambling in the United Kingdom, you will need to be at least 18 years old. On the other hand, there are a few exceptions to this rule, as there are multiple UK gambling age restrictions depending on the type of gambling activity.

๐Ÿ”ž What are the gambling age limits in the US?

It can get quite confusing when talking about casino age restrictions in the US, as each state has to decide this on a local level. This was one of the results from the US Supreme Court decision in 2018, which paved the way for legal gambling in the country. Refer to the US gambling age restrictions part of our article for more details.

๐ŸŽฐ Can I play at online casinos if I cover the gambling age requirements?

Of course, you can. As long as you are over the casino age limit in your country, you can pick a casino operator and start gambling. We go over this in our playing in casino sites section, where we advise you how to find legal and reputable websites.

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