Legal Age of Gambling in International Laws + 7 Important Things to Know

Legal Age of Gambling — Each person would love to gamble. But there is a rule that you need to be over 21 years old in order to gamble. This rule is applicable in every single casino all over the world.

There’s not one single casino that will allow you if you’re not 21 or even if you’re already 18. Including on professional online gambling sites.

There are many reasons regarding the legal age of gambling. Each of these rules are made to keep you from being addicted.

Gambling has a lot of risk involved. And that you need to use your own money when you gamble instead of using other people’s money.

There are many different scenarios when people steal money in order for them to gamble. This needs to be prevented at all costs. In order to prevent people from gambling compulsively there are laws that needs to be upheld.

These laws are actually quite simple but there are so many reasons why people make these kinds of loss.

History on The Legal Age of Gambling

These laws originate from America and this is because America is one of the first countries that have their own casinos. This also means that America is one of those countries that created the laws first time.

They’re able to successfully apply this law and basically in almost every state. Except for a few states that actually allows gambling.

Such as the state of Nevada as well as Georgia.

These places have a long history of the legal age of gambling not the legal age of gambling itself is 21 but you might want to know more about why 21 is the real number right.

There’s also a fun fact that the legal age of drinking is the same as the legal age of gambling hence if you still can’t drink then you’re also unable to gamble at the same time.

Addiction to gambling as well as drinking is basically the same thing.

Because when you go to gamble you also would be interested to try and drink. But keep in mind that drinking itself has its own age limit.

Why is The Legal Age of Gambling 21?

There are many reasons why 21 is the perfect age for everything. First up, 21 is not just any age that is picked. 21 is actually a number that has been scientifically being studied.

This number means that a person has reached their maturity.

We will discuss a few different aspects on why the legal age of gambling is 21. So stay with us and read more about it.

Maturity in Mental and Physical Aspect

A person is considered mature based off of two things. First, they are mentally mature. This means that a person would have the mental capacity to think based off of facts.

This is different to children that cannot make a decision that is hard to do. Instead kids or people that are not mature yet make decisions quickly. Without even weighing in on the effects as well as the facts involved.

Maturity in mental is very important. Because gambling will pressure people into betting or even folding. That is why not many people can bet or gambling patiently.

Instead people would rather gamble quickly and just focus on the prize. While doing so, they would lose their money. This is because they are so eager to gain thousands of dollars quickly.

On the other side, maturity in the physical aspect is also needed. Casino is not just a place to gamble. Often times, casino is situated within a strip club, night clubs, and even bars.

This is dangerous for kids under age to be around. If a kid was to gamble, then they would also be exposed to these types of environment. For example, unsupervised alcohol consumption would happen drastically to these kids.

It is no debate that gambling will have a toll on someone’s physical self. That is why so many people is eager to go to a casino. And these laws are the only thing holding them back.

Economical Capabilities

In order for a person to gamble, they need to have money. No money means that you cannot bet or wager on something. It is a fact that usually kids will have no money yet. That is why the parents or the legal guardian is supposed to provide.

In other words, a kid or someone that is below 21 is most likely not going to have a job yet. Instead, they would still be pursuing education and something similar. With this fact itself, it is easy to draw conclusions.

That kids will not be economically capable to bet.

This is different to anyone that is over the age of 21. These people would most likely already have a lot of money. Hence they would only use the spare money to gamble. This is actually and okay thing to do instead of using your savings to gamble.

On top of that, underage gamblers would also have a harder time facing losses. This is because they would have to gamble with the money that they only have. Instead of the money that they could gain slowly by working. Hence when they face a loss, it would feel like it is the end of the world.

This is a main reason why the legal age of gambling is 21. In order to prevent underage gamblers, the rule is set to 21 so that you could have a job first.

Education and Knowledge

A person can be categorized as fully educated once they have the capability to think for themselves. This is only possible if the person has undergo education as well as go to school. After a person gets education, they would also know the risks.

Studies have found out that people often underestimate the true risks involved. For example, you might not know that gambling could lead to addiction, poverty, and so much more.

But a person that has been educated would know all of this. Hence they would also gamble better when they are educated.

On top of that, colleges and schools would possible be able to teach these underage people about the dangers of gambling beforehand.

The legal age of gambling is set the way it is so you could at least graduate from college first. This is to prevent a spike in the numbers of gamblers. Because after all, gambling is an act of entertainment. That is why you cannot just gamble away all of your money.

Education is important because there are also things involved in gambling. Gambling does not always rely on things such as luck. You also need to rely on strategy and probability.

The higher your chances, then the better it is for you to get a lot of money. This is why the legal age of gambling is very important for people to know.

Does Not Know How to Manage Money

In order for you to profit, you need to contrl all your income.

Is Gambling Dangerous for Anyone Underage?

Gambling has a lot of dangers. If in case you play and you get addicted, then it would be way harder for you to cure that addiction. That is because children way faster. This addiction would last a long time.

Not just a couple of days or months. It could lead up to months up to even years and years of addiction. That is why underage people and players are not allowed to gamble.

On top of that, your life would fell apart almost instantly. Just imagine if a person keeps on being addicted from a very young age. And then this leads up to their future.

Sooner or later, they would eventually be stuck in a gambling cycle. The chances of a player could be recovered may be low.

But if you keep on playing over and over again, this is very hard for you to get out of the gambling cycle. And to learn more, here are all of the dangers of anyone that wants to gamble:

Addiction and Mental Health

Addiction is a thing that has always existed. For anyone that is quite conventional, you might not want to embrace this fact. THis is because you believe that things such as mental health does not exist in the first place.

But the truth is, mental health exists. And like it or not, people actually get addicted. To the point they lose all of their money and then realized that mental health was real to begin with.

Addiction is a symptom where you cannot stop. The euphoric feeling inside your mind has made you to compulsively gamble. Hence you lose any other ability to stop.

This is because you want to keep making money and you want to feel good all the time. But the truth is, this is not always possible.

A person that has addiction will need a lot of help. They cannot get out of their own addiction because it is not as simple as that. Like many other addiction, you would need help from many people.

This could even cost you some money. If you are willing to go the extra step into a rehab facility. But overall, everyone can go through rehabilitation if they want to.

On top of that, mental health is also a factor to consider. Every gambler will face losses. But losing too much can make you stressed out.

Think of it like losing a game. The more you lose, the more depressed you could be. Especially if you lose a lot of money.

Money is something that is needed to transact and it has value. When someone loses that, they would be stressed out and sometimes even leads to suicide.

You might also like: The Negative Impact of Gambling on Everyday Life

The House Always Win

One simple truth to keep in mind is that casino as well as the gambling industry is a business. Everyone in it is aimed to always win. No one wants to lose right?

Well the odds itself are designed specifically to make you lose. Take for example a game of slot machines.

A game of slot machines consists of machines as well as chances. If you gamble, you might win but you would also risk yourself with a winrate of 95%.

This means that every single time you gamble, you might only get 95 % left. And what happens to the 5 % you might ask? Well that 5 % is gone. That is why you might think that you won. But in the long run, you would always lose.

This is also applicable to all types of gambling games. Take for example poker, blackjack, and even roulette. Each type of these games are designed to make the house win. If you are educated, you might know this fact. That is why the legal age of gambling is set to 21.

Because when you are educated, you know things such as probability. You know that chances as well as percentages exist. You would even consider all of the risks by calculating the chances of you winning.

Conclusion

The minimum legal age of gambling is set at a 21 year old range. This has never change nor will it ever change any sooner. This standard was set by the international gambling commission. In order for a casino to function, they need to able to have a lot of players. But this also excludes any type of underage players. If you want to play in a casino, make sure that your age is above 21. This will make it totally safe for you to pay taxes as well as gamble while enjoying alcohol.

Gambling below the age of 21 years old has proven to be very dangerous. Children, kids, and any underage players will become addicted without any way to cure it. Beware that gambling will have its own risk. Do not gamble compulsively and learn all of the risks involved.

Originally published at https://globalactionforchildren.org on May 3, 2021.