Legal Gambling Age In Australia
In Australia, the minimum gambling age is standard nationwide. To enter a casino in Australia, regardless of state, requires gamblers to meet the minimum age of eighteen. This fixed legal age applies to. There Legal Gambling Age In Australia will be treasures and danger, blood-chilling challenges and medieval horror, oriental exotics and love, sweat and struggle. Even today, you already have the.
Every teenager eventually runs into prohibitions based on age. To a 15-year-old it’s understandable why a 5-year-old shouldn’t be allowed to drive.
But why do you have to wait another year to get a driver’s license?
And if you have a summer job, why can’t you spend your money on alcohol, cigarettes, and gambling the way 18-year-old or 21-year old friends and relatives do?
Everyone feels “mature enough” to make mature decisions before their elders say they’re ready.
Reflecting upon all the factors a gambling establishment, either online or land-based must consider, several reasons come to mind.
Age of Majority
This seems to be the most important factor.
Despite any precocious emotional or intellectual maturity young people may possess, in most jurisdictions, an age of majority prevails.
The age of majority determines when an individual can enter into legally binding contracts. A law-abiding gambling company cannot do business with minors.
Every member of an online casino must register and honestly affirm their age. To collect winnings they must prove their identity and age eligibility.
If a minor successfully enters a land-based casino, plays a game, and collects a modest stake, the casino has broken the law. The young player may get away with it.
Not only do they not have to honor the win they legally cannot.
Laws Governing Gambling Activities
Governments around the world decided not to allow minors to gamble in licensed establishments. Gambling laws take the decision out of the casinos’ hands.
Many teens learn how to play blackjack, poker, roulette, and other gambling games at home or from their friends.
They may even play for money in unlicensed gaming situations.
If caught by authorities the teens may not be prosecuted, but game organizers would almost certainly be arrested.
Teens’ parents are also held accountable for the behavior of their children.
Age restrictions on gambling fall into a complex system of laws designed to protect young individuals from making life-destroying choices.
Emotional and Intellectual Maturity is Vital to Managing Risk
While few fully mature adults (estimates range from 5% to 10%) are considered gambling addicts, many acquired addictive habits while still adolescents.
Science is still uncertain about when people become fully mature adults. In 2014 the National Academy of Sciences proposed that ages 18-26 be considered the final stage of emotional and intellectual development.
The truth is that science has yet to show at what age the general population can make good choices about risky behavior. This goes well beyond gambling and into many types of activities.
Teens are not permitted to compete in many types of professional sports. They may lack the physical characteristics and training to compete, but their mental abilities are not yet ripe.
Social concerns about teens’ readiness to make important choices are reinforced by one disturbing study: a 20-year study found that children experiencing stress do mature faster than their peers.
This is not a justification for allowing some teens to gamble, smoke, drink, or take other risks. It’s clear confirmation that young people are not naturally ready to make adult choices. Gambling is all about risk, and society has deemed it’s too risky for young individuals.
Gambling Requires Financial Responsibility
If you gamble, you’re staking something of value. In both online and offline gambling establishments, money is at stake.
And gamblers are expected to cover their losses.
Unfortunately, this is easy to do with debt. You can borrow $1000 and take it to the casino. All the casino can do is insist you put money on the table before they allow you to pay.
Online casinos can only insist you deposit funds into your account before playing.
An emancipated teenager has the right to earn a supporting income, but most teens are not emancipated. Without the ability to enter into legal contracts, they can’t even borrow money.
Ironically, even though casinos don’t care where you get your money, they need you to bring in new money every time you gamble.
They’re counting on your losses for their profits.
Having a steady income, being able to support yourself, and budgeting a reasonable amount for entertainment makes you a more desirable customer for a casino. A business that depends on financially unstable teenagers accepts greater risks than most casinos do.
Younger People Are More Susceptible to Addictive Behavior
Although science still has much to learn about how the brain develops and works, recent findings show that adolescents are more prone to addiction than adults.
An individual who grows to adulthood in a supportive, healthy environment is less likely to become an addict.
There are no guarantees in life, but requiring teens to wait before taking some risks helps them later in life.
Gambling addiction is the number 1 reason why some organizations oppose the spread of organized, legal gambling. The cost to society of treating addiction is calculable.
But that cost rises as one considers secondary issues, such as criminal behavior driven by addiction. Many crimes are committed by non-addicted people, but the connection between addiction and crime is undisputed.
Age-restrictive laws are intended to ensure that young people have a fair chance to grow to full maturity in safe environments. By holding adults accountable for how they interact with teenagers, society hopes to prevent some exploitative situations. And let’s face it: some adults are unscrupulous enough to intentionally manipulate less mature teens into bad situations.
What Is the Youngest Legal Gambling Age in the World?
It’s impossible to be sure, but this Wikipedia article lists no age restriction for a Category D gaming machine in the United Kingdom.
The same article includes a few other restrictionless forms of gambling:
- Private or non-commercial gaming and betting
- Equal chance gaming (prize gaming permitted or licensed family entertainment)
- Prize gaming at an unlicensed family entertainment centre or traveling fair
- The United Kingdom also permits 16-year-olds to gamble in:
- National lottery
- Scratch off ticket games
- Football pools
Another country enacting unusual gambling laws is Afghanistan.
They forbid all land-based gambling activities, but anyone of any age can gamble in an online system. Afghanistan may not be known for its high-speed Internet, but cell phones are widely used there. The Wikipedia article says that Tunisia may have inadvertently made gambling legal for all ages by failing to make it illegal for all ages.
The country of Malawi in southeastern Africa allows children as young as 5 to gamble in land-based casinos.
Also, the Wikipedia article may not be up-to-date, and some of the points listed above could be inconsistent with current laws in the countries named.
Conclusion
The ancient Roman writer Tacitus wrote in his famous treatise, The Germania, that the ancient Germans of his time had a reputation for gambling:
“An amazing thing to us is that they practise gambling as the serious occupation of their sober hours; and they hazard to win or lose so recklessly that, when all he has is gone, a player will stake his personal liberty on a last and decisive throw.
If he loses he goes into voluntary slavery; and, although he may be the younger and the stronger man, he suffers himself to be bound and to be sold. They exhibit herein a most perverse obstinacy, and call it paying a debt of honour.
Successful gamblers get rid of the slaves held under this title by selling them to the merchants in order to escape their share of the shame.”
While some historians question the accuracy of Tacitus’ description, there is some universal truth to the matter. Gambling has earned a hard reputation through the centuries. Some people do lose everything. For that reason society has learned to protect its youngest members (in most countries) from taking such risks until they have grown to an age to make sound decisions.
Life doesn’t promise we’ll always make the right decisions. That’s why we make laws to slow us down when we’re most apt to rush in where angels fear to tread.
The Legal Age
In today’s day and age, many governments and legal jurisdictions have established mostly agreed upon age requirements for participating in certain activities, that require the decision making and judgement that you can only get from experience and maturing. These societies, reflecting their cultural norms and practices, have varying activities that they restrict with a legal age limit.
In most societies, gambling is an age restricted activity that is linked to a coming of age, when a teenager steps into adulthood and is understood to be able to make serious decisions and take on greater responsibilities. In the case of gambling, the responsibility is of one’s own finances.
Gambling is often divided into distinct categories; the most common being casinos and sports betting. There are frequently different age restrictions for these distinct gambling categories. For example, in New Zealand, one must be 20 before they can gamble at casinos, but they can wager on horses when they’re 18. There isn’t an age restriction on playing the national NZ lottery!
The Legal Gambling Age Worldwide
So where in the world can you gamble under 18? Where is it illegal to gamble? Well, there’s a fair few oddities and distinct jurisdictions that we’ll take you through, continent by continent. For a comprehensive look at all the legal gambling ages around the world, check out this list.
Europe
Across this vast continent, with its many distinct cultures rubbing shoulders with each other, there’s a surprising similarity amongst the various European nation states. For the majority of European nations, one must be 18 years old to make a legal bet, but there are a few exceptions.
In Denmark, there are no restrictions on sports betting. Punters must be 18 for all other forms of gambling, such as in a casino or on a gaming machine in another venue, or online gambling, but can be any age to put a bet on a horse or their favourite football team.
Estonia, on the other hand, has a casino gambling age minimum of 21 years old, higher than the European average, but has a minimum age for all other forms of gambling of 16 years old. It’s not surprising that one of the most digitally advanced societies in the world allows their teenagers to gamble online!
Portugal has some pretty complicated gambling laws. The legal age to gamble at a casino can be 25, but can also be 18, it all depends on the specific casino. There are some casinos that even allow for tourists to gamble at 18, but restrict locals to 25 and older.
In both Andorra and Bosnia & Herzegovina, there is no legal minimum age to gamble, anywhere. Keen young punters from around Europe and the rest of the world can head to these countries and see what they have to offer. While Andorra doesn’t have any casinos yet, this small nation is still worth a visit!
Asia
Over in the eastern hemisphere on the Asian continent there are a fair few countries that have outlawed gambling of any kind, making it illegal to wager on a game or event. Here are the countries that travelling bettors would do best to avoid:
- Afghanistan
- Brunei
- Bahrain
- Indonesia
- Maldives
- Pakistan
- Qatar
- Syria
For the most part, the rest of the Asian countries follow the same pattern as Europe, in that they allow gambling for those 18 and older, while a handful of others restrict gambling to 21.
North & South America
Most nations in North and South America flit between a legal age for gambling of 18 and 21 years of age – notably, there are no nations without gambling restrictions. This could be perhaps due to the large impact the Catholic church has had on the culture of these societies.
In the infamously complicated collection of states that comprise the USA, the laws and minimum gambling ages vary from state to state, but always between 18 and 21. It’s handy to remember when travelling in the states that what’s legal in one state isn’t legal in another.
Africa
Like in Asia, many African nations outlaw gambling, such as Ethiopia, Eritrea, Libya, Sudan and Somalia, and funnily enough, Tunisia has no legal age, after an unsuccessful attempt to outlaw it across the country!
As much of Africa is in the global south economically and developmentally, many nations have no regulation for the technological side of online gambling, even some of the nations that outlaw all other forms of gambling, such as Ethiopia and Eritrea!
Oceania
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Lastly, at the bottom of the world, the collection of nations that comprise Oceania have largely similar gambling laws, with most of the nations having a legal gambling age of 18. Most notably, a few of the small Pacific Ocean states have outlawed gambling, while gambling in casinos require a minimum age of 20 in New Zealand.
Where Will You Go on Your Next Holiday?
There you have it, a worldwide snapshot of the gambling situation as it stands today. If you’re looking for a holiday gambling destination in the post-COVID world with a low legal age, we’d suggest heading over to the mainland and keeping in local (European). There’s both Estonia and Bosnia & Herzegovina to check out, which offer rich cultural offerings to boot!
Just remember, if you are accessing online casinos, the legal gambling age where you are still applies!
Frequently Asked Questions
Legal Gambling Age In Michigan
As comprehensive as these guides can be, there are oftentimes gaps that we don’t see until our great readers point them out. We’ve compiled the most commonly asked questions we get about the legal age to gamble around the world, and answered them below.
Can you gamble anywhere at 18?
Legal Gambling Age In Australia 2019
No, there are many countries that have a minimum legal age of 21, and many that outlaw gambling outright. In the USA, there are quite a few states that restrict gambling to 21+, but luckily there are a few that allow gambling from 18. If you are gambling in other countries, you can bet at 18. For example, you can access the best UK online casinos as long as you are 18.
What country has the lowest gambling age?
Legal Gambling Age In Australia
There are a handful of countries that actually have no gambling restrictions to name of, for various cultural or developmental reasons. Most countries tend to restrict gambling to over 18s or over 21s, like with online casinos in the US.