Guide to New York Gambling Age: Casinos, Sports Betting & More

New York state, home to the Big Apple, is a huge fan of in-person land-based gambling but is yet to legalize any form of online real money gaming. With what has been described as a very liberal approach to in-person gambling, New York is an attractive destination for residents of neighboring states and overseas visitors alike. With casino games, sports betting, poker, pari-mutuel betting, and a state lottery to enjoy residents and visitors are spoilt for choice.

The New York gambling age tows the party line in terms of the legal ages applied to each form legalized gaming – meaning that New York state’s playing offering is in line with what other neighboring states.

In the table above we have outlined the legal gambling ages for each form of legalized activity in the state of New York. As you can see both casinos and sports betting have a legal age of 21, which is pretty standard across most states in the US. Whereas bingo, Daily Fantasy Sports, pari-mutuel betting, and the state lottery only require participants to be 18. If there is no age under a form of gaming then that form is illegal in New York state.

On this page, we will discuss in further detail the legal gambling age required to participate in each form of legalized gaming in New York. We will also go into further detail about the legality of each form of popular real money games, as well as discussing the forms history as well as any future legal reform that might be on the horizon.

Casino Age in New York

The legal New York gambling age for casinos is 21. New York several forms of bricks and mortar casinos operating within its state’s borders. The first form of casinos that were legalized in New York were tribal casinos. In 1993 New York state legalized tribal casinos that are permitted under the federal laws set out in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 1988 (IGA). Under this New York has made compacts with three local tribes that now operate 16 casinos with the state’s borders.

Under the tribal compacts the three local tribes are able to operate an unlimited number of casinos on their tribal lands, so long as each casino meets all legal and regulatory requirements set out in the compacts. The compacts also state that tribal casinos are able to offer Class III games, which includes electronic gaming machines, traditional casino table games and sports wagers – which we will discuss in more detail later on on this page.

The other forms of legalized casinos in New York are commercial casinos and racinos, both of which were legalized in 2013. These forms of casinos are able to operate in locations that are pre-approved by the state, at last count, there were 4 commercial casinos and 8 racinos operating in the state.

Casino gaming is very popular in New York, with annual commercial gambling revenue increasing by 10% when the latest casino opened in 2018. With such an appetite for in-person wagering, New York has started to establish itself as a destination for out of state visitors who are fans of playing with real money.

The legal casino age in New York is most likely set to 21 as the legal drinking age across the US is also 21. Under state legislation and tribal compacts, both commercial and tribal casinos are able to offer complimentary drinks to visitors. It, therefore, makes sense that casinos would marry their entry age to the legal drinking age as this helps them to avoid any issues about serving alcohol to underage minors.

What are The Casinos In New York that accept 18 year Olds?

There are no casinos in New York that accept 18-year-olds . The universal casino entry age across all casinos operating in New York state is 21. While New York is thought of as a liberal state in terms of the in-person forms of gambling that are legalized, the legal age for the most popular form of betting is still quite conservative.

However, there are still some forms of gambling that 18-year-olds can enjoy while in New York state. Individuals only need to be 18 to enjoy the state lottery, Daily Fantasy Sports, pari-mutuel betting, and bingo in the Empire State.

For those over the age of 21 who are wanting to gamble at a tribal or commercial casino in New York, we have pulled together a list of the eight most popular casinos current operating in the Empire State below.

Sports Betting In New York

New York has emerged as the number one legalized sports betting market in the country, surpassing other states in terms of revenue and market size. The legalization of sports betting in New York began in 2013 when the state legislature passed the necessary legislation. However, it took a few years for the state to act on the legalization after the repeal of the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018.

In January 2022, online mobile sports betting in New York became fully legal. New York has emerged as a prominent state for sports betting, boasting some of the best sports betting sites in the country, offering a wide range of markets and competitive odds.

Under the sports betting laws in New York, individuals must be at least 21 years old to participate in sports wagering. Currently, sports betting is only permitted in person at licensed casino locations within the state. All types of casinos, including tribal casinos, have the opportunity to apply for a sportsbook license as long as they meet the necessary requirements.

Another form of sports wager that has been legal in New York state for several decades is pari-mutuel betting on horse races. Legal in New York since 1939, pari-mutuel wagering on horse races has long been a favored past time of New York residents, with several race tracks still in operation across the state. Pari-mutuel betting is legal for those above the age of 18, and since 1970 residents of New York have also been able to place pari-mutuel wagers at licensed off-track betting locations which have been great revenue spinners for the state government.

NY Online Gambling Age

While New York does have a very liberal approach to in-person gaming, that liberality stops when it comes to any form of online gambling. As of 2020, there is no way to legally gamble online in New York. Unlike neighbor New Jersey, who has always been one of the first states to legalize any new form of real money playing, New York has taken an especially conservative approach when it comes to online gambling.

Across the US residents of several states appear to get around bans on online gambling by accessing online casino websites run by offshore entities, the same is true of New York residents. While these betting websites are popular and generally offer all of the casino classics in an online form, players should be wary of a few things before playing on them.

Firstly, these offshore casino websites are run by operators that are not based in the US. Therefore, these websites are not licensed or regulated within the US. This means that if anything goes wrong when players are gambling on these websites, they will have no recourse against the operators under the US or New York state law. Further, as online gaming is illegal in New York, individuals caught playing on an offshore website could face prosecution.

While several states across the US are opening up their laws to allow for online gambling, including New York state neighbor New Jersey, it appears the Empire State has no intention of doing so any time soon.

Poker Gambling Age

Same as online casino gambling in New York, online poker is illegal in the Empire State. However, fans of poker should not be discouraged individuals can still play poker at several of the states’ tribal or commercial casinos. In order to play poker at one of the state’s casinos, players must be above the age of 21 as this is New York state’s legal casino entry age.

Further to casino poker games, residents of New York are also able to play social games of poker so long as those hosting the games have no way of profiting from such games.

Much like all forms of online gambling in New York, it doesn’t look like online poker will be legalized any time soon. With enough in-person offerings for residents who love poker, the state will most likely keep to the status quo with pokers’ legality for the time being.

Daily Fantasy Sports

One recent area of gambling law development in New York has been the legalization of Daily Fantasy Sports. Historically Daily Fantasy Sports was considered illegal in the Empire State, but this all changed in 2016 when it was legalized by the Attorney General. Under its legalization in 2016, the legal NY gambling age for Daily Fantasy Sports is 18.

While New York fans of Daily Fantasy Sports rejoiced in 2016, more recently a dampener has been placed on fans of the game. In 2018 a New York Supreme Court judged that the legalization of Daily Fantasy Sports in 2016 was unconstitutional as it is not a game of skill but of chance. There are still ongoing court discussions about clarifying once and for all Daily Fantasy Sports legality in New York, but for now, it continues to operate under the 2016 declaration of legality.

Legal Age to Play the Lottery in New York

There has been a state lottery in operation in New York since 1966 and the first lottery ticket was drawn in 1967, making it one of the longest-standing state lotteries in the US. The legal gambling age for participating in New York’s state lottery is 18. With multi-jurisdictional and local games on offer, the state lottery has become a beloved institution amongst New Yorks residents.

New York’s Lottery is run by the New York Lottery Board, who have governed that lottery since its inception. The board helps to distribute the revenue generated through lottery sales. So far, the lottery has distributed over $3 billion to the state’s education system which as of 2012 constitutes 15% of the state’s education funding.

While New York’s lottery has not diversified into an online offering yet, in 2004 the state legalized video lottery terminals which are located in several of the state’s racinos. With these lottery terminals bringing in a healthy revenue for the state, alongside New York residents’ continued support of purchasing lottery tickets in person, there doesn’t seem to be any need for New York to diversify into an online lottery any time soon.

New York Gambling Laws & Future Outlook

New York’s state gambling laws can be found within the state’s legislature and penal code. Under the state’s penal code real money gaming is considered an offense and is defined as ‘staking or risking something of value upon the outcome of a contest of chance or a future contingent event not under person’s control, upon an agreement that he/she will receive something of value, given a certain event’.

Under New York’s penal code definition all popular forms of gambling could be considered illegal. In order to legalize them in New York state legislators have either entered in-laws to legalize it ie: the legalization of tribal and commercial casinos. Or have argued that the form of wagering doesn’t fit within the penal code’s definition of gambling ie: Daily Fantasy Sports, where legislators argue that it is a game of skill and not chance and therefore isn’t subject to any governance under the penal code.

New York’s gambling market is incredibly healthy with the casino market alone making a $6.55 billion economic footprint in 2019 alone, while also supporting over 25,000 jobs. With the bricks and mortar gaming market continuing to grow within New York, it’s set to continue to provide an important revenue injection to the state’s finances for the foreseeable future.

Gamblers New York should also note that there are taxes applied to winnings made within the state. Winning above $600 or x300 more than the wager amount is subject to a 25% tax. Further, any state lottery winnings above $5,000 are subject to a 25% federal tax along with an additional 8.82% state tax. It is worth noting that New York does have the highest gambling taxes in the whole of the US.

As stated above, currently New York has a very successful gambling market with all forms of real money games operating at a high standard and bringing in a lot of revenue for the state. The only downside for New York’s players is that it is yet to legalize any form of online casino gambling or sports wagering.

However, there are movements on the online gambling front. There is currently a bill with huge ground support sitting in front of the state’s legislature that proposes the legalization of online/mobile sports betting. There is hope that this bill will pass at some point in 2020, once the international Covid-19 pandemic is contained, and then New York residents will be able to enjoy sports wagering from the comfort of their own homes.

Frequently Asked Questions

We hope that this page has given you a good overview of the gambling laws in New York and the ages associated with each form of legal betting. If you still have any questions take a look at the answers to the most frequently asked questions below.