In the U.S., we have two major milestone birthdays that take place within 3 years of each other: 18 and 21. At age 18, a person is considered a legal adult and can vote, play the lottery, and join the armed forces. At age 21, a person can legally drink and buy alcohol and patronize casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. But in many states, people can gamble at age 18—and there’s no better place to host a milestone birthday than a local casino. Here’s a roundup of the various states and their restrictions regarding 18 and over casinos.

• Casino Age Limit In Florida
• Florida Casino Age Limit
• Florida Casino Age Limit

The legal casino gambling age in the state of Florida is 21. There are some online poker rooms that you can play at once you are over the age of 18, but for going to a casino, you have to be 21. This is generally fairly normal – most states restrict casino entry to those who are older than 21. Exceptions do exist, but Florida is not one of them. H ALLANDALE BEACH, Florida—John Pica leaned against the open driver's side door of his blue Jeep Wrangler, parked in a handicapped spot close to the entrance of the Big Easy Casino.It was early.

Pari-mutuel betting

Pari-mutuel betting is a type of wager where the final payout is determined after all bets are made, which is different from the fixed odds offered by casinos. The most popular type of pari-mutuel betting is off-track betting facilities. When you bet on horse races, all bets are pooled together and the house takes its fee. Once betting closes, the payouts are finalized based on how much money is in the pool and the results of the event. States that allow pari-mutuel betting for people aged 18 and over include:

• Arkansas
• Delaware
• Florida
• Indiana
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• New Mexico
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Washington

Bingo

Anyone can participate in a few rounds of bingo at the local church, but most casino bingo halls have an age limit to gamble. States that allow people age 18 and up to play bingo in a casino include:

Casino Age Limit In Florida

• Connecticut
• Florida
• New Mexico
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Wisconsin

Mixed age limits

Some states allow gambling for ages 18 and up or 21 and up, some depending on the particular casino, others depending on the particular casino game. For example, Florida allows those 18 and up to gamble on pari-mutuels, bingo, and poker, but has an age minimum of 21 for slots. States with mixed age limits include:

• Florida
• New York
• Oklahoma
• Washington
• California

Age 18+ welcome

A few states welcome anyone age 18 and older to gamble at local casinos, including California (with a few exceptions). California is home to casinos in over 100 cities—the largest number by far in the U.S., exceeding even the number found in Nevada. Southern California alone boasts two dozen cities with casinos, including Campo, which is home to Golden Acorn Casino! States that allow gambling at the age of 18 include:

Florida Casino Age Limit

• Alaska
• Idaho
• Minnesota
• Wyoming
• California (with a few exceptions)

Celebrate your 18th at Golden Acorn Casino

If you’re looking for the best place to celebrate your birthday at one of the 18 and over casinos near San Diego, come see us at Golden Acorn Casino. We offer hundreds of slot machines and dozens of table games to choose from, and we’re conveniently located right off the I-8, about an hour away from downtown San Diego. And who knows, maybe your wish for a big jackpot will come true when you blow out your candles!

There’s nothing quite like the rush of playing poker for real cash, but there is always a minimum gambling age involved. It can be really embarrassing to get turned away at the door while your friends go on to have a night of fun playing their hearts (and wallets) out, so doing your homework can really pay off. There is a bit of study required, as the legal gambling age to play poker in each state varies.

At domestic venues, the US legal poker age by state is typically set to a minimum age of 21 years old, but there are some 18 and over poker rooms located across the United States, as this age restriction is not federally mandated. There are also 18+ poker sites that are available to USA players. Below, we detail the minimum gambling ages for regulated domestic poker as well as each state’s age requirements for offshore gambling for real money.

Minimum Age To Play Poker For Real Money In Each State

• Alabama – offshore 18
• Alaska – offshore 18
• Arizona – 21 poker, offshore 18
• Arkansas – offshore 18
• California – 18 poker, offshore 18
• Colorado – 21 poker, offshore 18
• Connecticut – NO POKER (Thumbs down or sad face emoji?)
• Delaware – Poker 18 – Offshore 18
• Washington, D.C. – Offshore 18
• Florida – Poker 18 – Offshore 18
• Georgia – Offshore 18
• Hawaii – Offshore 18
• Idaho – Offshore 18
• Illinois – Poker 21, Offshore 18
• Indiana – 21 poker, offshore 18
• Iowa – 21 poker, offshore 18
• Kansas – 21 poker, offshore 18
• Kentucky – offshore 18
• Louisiana – 21 poker, offshore 18
• Maine – 21 poker, offshore 18
• Maryland - 21 poker, offshore 18
• Massachusetts – poker 21, offshore 18
• Michigan – 18 poker, offshore 18
• Minnesota – 18 poker, offshore 18
• Mississippi – poker 21, offshore 18
• Missouri – 21 poker, offshore 18
• Montana – 18 poker, offshore 18
• Nebraska – offshore 18
• Nevada – poker 21, offshore 18
• New Hampshire – 18 poker, 18 offshore
• New Jersey – 21 poker, 18 offshore
• New Mexico – 21 poker, 18 offshore
• New York – 18 poker, offshore 18
• North Carolina – 21 poker, 18 offshore
• North Dakota – 21 poker, 18 offshore
• Ohio – 21 poker, 18 offshore
• Oklahoma – 18 poker, 18 offshore
• Oregon – 21 poker, 18 offshore
• Pennsylvania – 21 poker, 18 offshore
• Rhode Island – 18 poker, 18 offshore
• South Carolina – 18 offshore
• South Dakota – 18 poker, 18 offshore
• Tennessee – 18 offshore
• Texas – 21 poker, 18 offshore
• Utah – offshore 18
• Vermont – offshore 18
• Virginia – offshore 18
• Washington – 18 poker – NO OFFSHORE
• West Virginia – 21 poker, 18 offshore
• Wisconsin – 18 poker, 18 offshore
• Wyoming – 18 poker, 18 offshore

States Where 18+ Online Poker is Legal - State-Regulated

These states have specifically passed legislation allowing state-regulated poker gambling within their borders:

• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Montana
• New Hampshire

• New York
• Oklahoma
• Rhode Island
• South Dakota
• Washington
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

With the exception of CT and WA, there are no states that legally prohibit players who are 18 years old and up from enjoying online poker games at offshore poker sites. Players in all other states are free to play real money poker as long as they are 18 and over. Here we’ve listed the industry’s leading online poker sites accepting 18+ players, as well as what their current bonus offers are.

How Are Minimum Ages To Play Poker Determined?

Each state is its own self-governed territory. They each set their own rules and regulations when it comes to poker, both online and off. One of the many considerations for every state includes setting the minimum age for poker play, which usually aligns with its minimum legal gambling age.

Federal gambling laws do not provide a minimum age to play poker for real money. Thus, it is up to each US State to determine the age at which they will allow for real money poker at their domestic rooms or at their online venues (if such are regulated and allowed for by law).

Ages for domestic poker play begin at adulthood, or 18 years old, with most states requiring a legal age minimum of 21. Some US states may offer differing minimum gambling ages depending on the poker room in question. Alcohol sales and whether or not the venue is located on tribal land are usually the determining factors.

Why Are There Different Poker Gambling Age Minimums In The Same State?

It would be nice if each state declared a legal minimum poker age requirement that would govern all facilities located under its control. Well, in fact, they do, and land-based commercial poker rooms must adhere to these regulations. So how do facilities located within the same region offer different age minimums for poker players?

Native American lands are sovereign, and the tribal leaders are allowed to operate businesses in these regions (mostly) as they see fit, including the building of exotic casino resorts. Because these lands are sovereign, the local tribal governments can set their legal minimum gambling age limits. There are scenarios across the USA where the state’s minimum poker age is set to 21 while tribal poker rooms allow poker and tournament poker play beginning at just 18 and up.

There are some instances where states allow for 18+ poker play at local gambling venues, but some facilities within that same region require gamblers to be 21 or over. This is almost always due the poker room or card room offering alcohol as one of their many services. Because 21 is the legal drinking age in the US and is set by federal law, many facilities that offer alcohol prohibit 18- through 20-year-old gamblers from entering, simply to avoid any potential operational issues. Many bars and clubs that serve alcohol restrict entry to 21+ customers for the same reason.

Developing 18+ Poker Laws

State legislatures meet annually and have the full capability to alter poker laws within their borders as they so choose, including changing minimum gambling age requirements. Federal legislative bodies also have the ability to impose laws that are enforceable across all territories that the United States governs. Changes can affect the industry positively and negatively, so additional regulation is not always a bad thing.

Offshore poker rooms most often allow 18 and over bettors to be dealt in, but we’ve seen a few that require minimum poker ages of 21 and up. Read through the terms and conditions of your chosen offshore poker gambling site before attempting to become a member.

Additionally, if your state has a minimum poker age limit of 21 and older defined in its lawbooks, you may wish to err on the side of caution and wait until you’re at least that old before signing up with an online gambling site operating offshore. We’ve never heard of any 18 and up poker players getting in trouble for playing over the Internet in such states, however.

Depending on where you are in the country, the legal minimum poker age to play for real cash at a domestic poker room can be as low as 18 years old. The most common age requirement to enter and play at a poker room is 21 years old. In some US states, there are poker rooms that have different age requirements. This is often tied to whether the establishment offers alcohol as one of its perks.

There are a few states that offer online poker through their domestic casinos, and the legal minimum poker age to play will be the same age that is required at the physical locations they’re partnered with. That legal gambling age varies by region but is typically 21 years old. For those that don’t live in one of the US states where online poker is legal, then an offshore betting site is the best option.

Online poker is typically not legal to play across state borders, but this is a state-by-state matter. There is no federal law that bars the pastime in this way. While the UIGEA law prohibits the electronic transfer of funds across state lines for unauthorized gambling purposes, states that offer domestic online poker (Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey) have agreements allowing for interstate online play.

Florida Casino Age Limit

That said, most all states fail to address offshore poker sites in their lawbooks, allowing for legal play for 18+ gamblers online. Players that have yet to reach adulthood are advised to refrain from playing Internet or in-person poker for real money, as the penalties for playing under the legal minimum gambling age vary from hefty fines to potential jail time.