The Age of Gambling

Written by Haylie | Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

One of the main issues that land-based gambling establishments are faced with, which may even be effecting the much needed support of regulation of online gambling in the US is the problem with underage gambling. In the past, underage gamblers who were caught in a land-based casino, the same thing—kicked out to go to the next hotel and try to get away with it.

Even online gambling sites fall prey to underage visitors. Most reputable online establishments are very adamant about ensuring no one under the age of 18 gets through the gates, but in the US the gambling age is 21, so there is a big conflict here. When they are caught though, there’s not much they can do as online gambling operators except simply ban the user from the site, and freeze their accounts indefinitely. Many professional poker players who are very successful players now have admitted to starting out playing online poker at a very young age, sometimes as young as 14 years old.

But new steps are being taken to combat the problem and new ways that will serve as preventative measures to thwart the problem are being enforced. Teens who participate in illegal land-based gambling will soon have some fierce consequences if they are caught, thanks to new laws, whereas before there was no legal repercussions that could be taken against underage gamblers.

Several US states have enacted legislature that puts the liability of underage gambling on the teenage culprits. Fines are now incurred, up to $500, when a person who is not of legal gambling age is caught in a casino placing wagers.

Atlantic City now requires security to detain underage gamblers until authorities arrive, much like the repercussions of shoplifting, another crime popular among the younger sect. It is the hopes of policy makers to scare more kids into refraining from placing illegal bets in the first place.

Also, if an underage gambler happens to win any sum of money, large or small, what would normally be a lucky man’s prize, can now be seized immediately.

While some people are complaining that the new laws are not effective, the casinos themselves can also be fined very heavily if underage gambling happens within their establishment. This may encourage the casinos to be more conscientious of the ages of their gambling patrons. Although, when faced with a fine that could run up into the thousands of dollars, casinos are now reluctant to even call authorities when underage gambling is discovered.

The casinos may or may not be acting more carefully these days… it was only about five years ago that I witnessed a 19-year-old female served with complimentary wine and cocktails well into the wee hours of the night while she sat and played blackjack and could barely walk to her room when she finally got up.

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