In most cases within the United States, online gambling ages correspond to the same age you must be in order to gamble at regular casinos. It can also depend on which game you are playing, but with regard to online poker sites, it tends to be the same age in most states that legally allow, meaning that officially minimum legal age to play poker is 21.

Basics of Online Poker

Online poker allows the same gameplay that real life poker does, with the exception of seeing your opponents. Usually, you are able to play more than one game at once as well, increasing the amount you can win in a shorter amount of time if you are good. Many sites also offer bonuses, such as deposit bonuses or no deposit bonuses, sign-up bonuses, or other lucrative deals that allow you to get more for your money. They also offer regular poker games and poker tournaments, and varying styles of play.

General Legal Age

Most online poker rooms have the legal age set at 18. This is because some states allow gamblers who have a minimum age of 18 years old. These states are Alaska, Idaho, Minnesota, and Wyoming. While these states have not yet legalized online poker, it is not expressly illegal at a federal level, and so state laws remain murky on the legality of online gaming. Nevertheless, responsible gaming has always been put on the highest rank in the US. Most US regulated sites have age limits, and their minimum legal age set at 18 because if these states legalize it in the future, they don’t want to alienate poker players in those states.

U.S. citizens physically residing in such states as Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware are able to enjoy online gambling for real money at regulated and authorized websites only if they have minimum legal age of 21 years old.

Since January 2016, there doesn’t exist any legal framework to play online poker in some US states such as California, Pennsylvania, and New York.

Nevertheless, there have been plenty of petitions aimed to legalize online poker in those states, as well as in other states all across America.

Players who enjoy occasional online poker gambling for real money should be very careful regarding news about legal poker playing and authorized age to play the latter in different states. Plus, they are encouraged to support opposition movements aimed to legalize online gambling on a state level.

Regulated Sites and Legality

There are some websites to play online poker that are regulated by the US government. These are the sites which US citizens located in states where poker is legal to play can enjoy to the fullest. Playing on unregulated sites is dangerous as they are not guaranteed to give you your winnings, and may run off with your money. You should be really careful and vigilant choosing a website to play on, considering your region of residing and taking into account the minimum legal age set by this or that website. Unsecured deposits and withdrawals are one reason the government has regulated poker sites. Full Tilt Poker was one of the sites that were accused of defrauding players by the US government and had its website seized. It has since rebuilt a new site under new leadership.

Another problem with unregulated sites is that most ways to pay and receive money are illegal under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The act was put in place as a result of the actions of sites like Full Tilt mentioned above and aims to protect players from websites stealing the money of their players. Right now there are more unregulated sites than regulated ones since the government has tight restrictions on gaming sites operating within US territory. As more states legalize online poker, it is likely more websites will be allowed and restrictions will become looser.

Sates with authorized online poker

As of right now, the only states that expressly allow online poker are Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey. The legal age for all of these states is 21, and so the legal age to play online at this point is 21. However, Pennsylvania has legalized it but not yet put in place the laws to allow it, which should happen soon. Other states are also soon to authorize it based on legal matters in the past few years paving the way for bills to be put forward legalizing online casino games.

Since there are few states where online gaming is currently legal, the minimum age to play poker online at this point in time is 21. More states may legalize it in the future, meaning the age could go down to 18 in some states, but the legal age varies by state. Twenty-one is the most common age, and so, in general, the legal age to play poker online is 21.

Precautions for underage players

According to US law, Illegal Internet gambling results in seven different federal ramifications. It is forbidden and unlawful to conduct an illegal gambling business, to use the telecommunications to conduct an illegal gambling business involving spot bets, to use on-ground infrastructure and facilities to perform an illegal gambling business in states where the law prohibits such actions and. Moreover, if an individual is convicted of underage gambling, this information goes straight to their criminal record. A conviction for underage gambling will also have an immediate consequence and result in a fine of between $500 and $1,000, plus, the person’s driving license will be taken away for about six months. If the individual is under 16, or under the legal age of obtaining a driving license in a certain state, they will have to wait another six months before actually legally obtaining this document.

If a parent or a person who has custody or control of an underage person allows the individual to play online poker or conduct a similar unlawful activity, that person can be charged with a disorderly person’s offense.

There is even a whole committee responsible for preventing illegal gambling or online underage gambling in states where it is strictly prohibited. AGA (American Gaming Association) is committed to preventing illicit gambling in areas where it has no legal grounds by partnering with law enforcement to develop national, state and local awareness of the harmful implications of gambling. The AGA aims to conduct legitimate research on all forms of illegal gambling and strengthen partnerships with local authorities, police and other legal low representatives to combat this national problem that’s state and localities tax evasion, and allowing underage gambling.