Guide to Idaho Gambling Age: Casinos, Sports Betting & More

If you’re looking to discover the latest legal restrictions on the Idaho gambling age, then this page is the perfect place for you. We cover all forms of gambling and discuss the legality of each, furthering this we look ahead to future potential amendments to the law and analyze the progressive debate going on within this space. Idaho has a fairly forward thinking approach to gambling, the ID legal code allows participation in several different wagering formats for 18 and 21 years and above. Look below for an up-to-date overview of the current age limit and legal restrictions for all forms of gambling in Idaho.

As you can see from the table above, many types of gambling in Idaho are illegal. But don’t be disheartened, the state of Idaho has an excellent range of casinos that allow guests to visit from the age of 21 years. If you’re looking for an in-depth description of the gambling age Idaho legality surrounding each one of these individual gambling types for ID residents, then the following sections will certainly be of usage. If you’re interest has been whetted from the table above, keep scrolling for a detailed breakdown of legal gambling age in Idaho. We discuss with intense detail the restrictions and legality for the state of Idaho.

Legal Gambling Age in Idaho for Casino

One of the major strengths of the gaming repertoire available to Idaho residents is the amazing range of casino options throughout the state. There are over 20+ brick and mortar locations throughout the state where you can play, legal gambling age in Idaho for casino states that you must be 21+ years to enter the premises and place a bet. If you do meet this reasonable requirement for casino age in Idaho, then you’ll be able to enjoy a host of classic gambling options in ID casinos, with stunning riverside backdrops to enjoy a high-quality casino gambling experience, casinos in Idaho are some of the best in the country.

18-20 year old players may be feeling slightly aggrieved that there admission to casinos in Idaho is unlawful, but there is good reason for this. The main issue is the integration of alcohol and bar services into the casino, and where there is a presence and wide availability of alcohol and casino services, the casino age in Idaho limit will always be pushed up to 21 years and over. Despite this, there are several gaming options available for individuals aged between 18-20 years in Idaho, we will cover them in more detail below.

Which Casinos In ID Accept 21 Year-olds?

The 21 year old casinos in Idaho are all restricted to this same age, so in this section we’ll be looking closely at the best venues in the state for all of us old enough to visit. As you can see in the table below, we have summarized the five most popular venues that ID casino players love to visit. There is a mixture of riverboat casinos and land-based venues in this list. Covering several major towns across the state, these venues are highly accessible and offer residents and tourists alike the chance to play a wide-variety of cash money classic casino games. You’ll be guaranteed to have an enjoyable gaming experience if you decide to play at any of the casinos listed in the table below.

Sports Betting In Idaho

Unfortunately the state of Idaho does not currently offer residents the chance to engage in a general form of sports betting. There are a number of alternative options to this though, for example, you’ll be able to make wagers on horse racing across Idaho. Sports betting remains in its own category of casino games, and the state legislature has up until now rejected calls from business interests to amend the status quo around the establishment of sportsbooks, but horse racing remains. Given its cultural significance, and the economic benefits generated for horse breeders and trainers, the allowance of betting on sports is limited to horse racing only within Idaho.

Idaho Online Gambling Age

Whilst Idaho does offer residents a fantastic range of online lottery ticket purchasing options, and a wide-variety of land-based casino venues, there has been a severe lack of an integrated online gambling network in the state. In fact, there local government has actively resisted calls from private business interests to introduce a state-run online gambling industry. The lack of an organized operating model for gambling in Idaho is clear, and the state still does not even have a central authority or gambling commission to decide on the path to take. All decisions are taken by the state attorney general, and up until now, that office has consistently rejected progressive calls to amend and relax the strict laws surrounding online gambling.

Of course, the fact that online gambling products cannot be hosted from within the Idaho state boarders does not mean that residents are unable to gamble online. The reality is quite different, and given the freedom and accessibility that the internet provides for its users, residents of Idaho have been easily accessing offshore gambling services that provide online gaming options to people across the entire United States. The legality of these services sits in a very grey area, as they are not explicitly legal, nor do they violate any federal law – for now this unconventional solution is being used by many hundreds of thousands of players across the country.

Online Poker/Poker Gambling Age

Much similar to online gambling age and legality restrictions, online poker and card rooms sit in the same legal limbo of prohibition. The game is a highly contested issue by advocates for the legality and restitution of liberal gambling laws, as they argue, poker is more a game of skill than it is luck – and should therefore be considered separately from other forms of gambling. It is true, and anybody that has played a considerable amount of poker will be able to attest that the card game becomes incredibly technical at the higher level, with the incorporation of game theory, statistics and the mathematics of poker huge differentiating factors between the players at the very top and those that just play casually. For now though, in the eyes of the Idaho legal code, poker is just like any other type of gambling and remains completely illegal throughout the state. The gambling age in Idaho for poker games is irrelevant in this circumstance due to its blanket prohibition.

Daily Fantasy Sports

The gambling age in Idaho for Daily Fantasy Sports is not relevant in this subtype due to it being illegal. Daily Fantasy Sports in Idaho is currently outside the legality of the system, and unlike residents in many other states around the country, you will not be permitted to engage in this type of gambling. The area of the law surrounding Daily Fantasy Sports and wider sportsbook betting in general is a legal grey zone in the eyes of the federal government, and many states have set their own legislation on the activity. But playing Daily Fantasy Sports in Idaho is not currently possible. Don’t be disheartened though, in the coming months and years there is expected to be quick-moving change on these issues, and the law is expected to significantly relax as the overriding attitudes in the United States become increasingly liberal.

Legal Age to Play the Lottery in Idaho

The Idaho Lottery is a vast network of instant win and draw games giving residents the chance to win millions of dollars in cash prizes. Unfortunately, up until now, the state has not shifted its stance towards online lottery variants, the only type of lottery games that are possible to play in Idaho are those where you have to travel to a licensed vendor, choose your ticket and pay at the vendor. The same applies for instant-win scratchers. The legal age for Idaho lottery is 18 years and above, and whilst you won’t be able to purchase tickets online, you’ll be able to quickly check to see if your tickets are winners at the official page for Idaho lottery we have linked above.

Idaho Gambling Laws & Future Outlook

Whilst the current landscape of gambling laws is rather restrictive in Idaho, there is a considerable land-based casino industry throughout the state, making Idaho much better than the average conditions across the other states in the Union. But, with that being said, there is still a vast amount of gambling types that are heavily restricted by strict state enforced laws, online gambling, sports betting and poker are all illegal under the current set of laws. As the ease and availability of offshore operators creeps into this market, it may not be too long until we see a huge reaction. As vast swathes of money leave the state through offshore operators, state lawmakers are under increasing pressure to relax the laws and allow the natural forces of the free market to get to work. The Idaho gambling age will likely remain consistent at 21 years as the laws on accessibility are relaxed.

There is a hugely active betting population in the state of Idaho. Over the last three decades the state lottery has ploughed over $1bn back into state programs, benefiting healthcare, schools and local charities. Along this ride there has also been some huge winners, with the largest jackpot win in Idaho coming a couple years back at the tune of $190M. The enormous cash-flow and immense liquidity that gambling generates for the tax authorities cannot be underestimated, and Idaho lawmakers are slowly being lobbied and brought around on the idea that the online gambling laws of the state are going to be liberalized.

The immediate future is looking bright for Idaho gambling stakeholders and gambling age legality. With the lottery gaining huge momentum in previous years, and the clear economic benefits of these programs being realized by state treasuries, there is an overarching willingness to scale up these programs, bringing them to more people and capturing more revenue. The only way to achieve these targets is through highly-scalable online platforms, and along with sports betting and poker, there is a highly probable chance that the legal roadblocks currently in place will be slowly and gradually removed, opening up the path to more free and reasonable laws towards online gambling in the state of Idaho.

Frequently Asked Questions

Throughout this article we have attempted to bring you the most relevant and helpful information regarding the legality of Idaho gambling age, whilst this information may be confusing in some places we have endeavored to make our presentation as clear and concise as possible. Below you’ll find the answer to some of our most frequently asked questions.