Guide to North Dakota Gambling Age: Casinos, Sports Betting & More

North Dakota, dominated by incredible landscape and the Great Plains, is not known as a gambling destination for those who are fond of a wager. With a very limited number of real money games available in the Peace Garden State, it is considered a relatively conservative state when it comes to gaming laws.

With limitations on commercial gambling and very slow adoption of modern gaming forms, North Dakota doesn’t seem to be too bothered about keeping up with the times in terms of gambling developments. However, residents of North Dakota should not despair there are still some forms players can enjoy such as tribal casinos, state lottery, and charitable poker. Below is a table that features the North Dakota legal gambling age for all relevant activities.

As you can see the legal gambling age varies dependent on the type of activity that is being undertaken. For casino gaming and to participate in any land-based poker game players have to be 21. Whereas for the state lottery, bingo, Daily Fantasy Sports, and pari-mutuel betting individuals only have to be 18.

On this page, we will go into further detail regarding the legality of wagering in North Dakota and the legal gambling ages associated with each form of legal playing. We will also discuss any upcoming legal reforms that might affect North Dakota’s gambling laws, while also taking into consideration North Dakota’s history with gaming laws.

Casino Age in North Dakota

North Dakota has very draconian laws when it comes to casino playing. Commercial casinos are banned in the state as are all forms of casino games. The only loophole around this is tribal casinos. Tribal casinos are casinos that are located on tribal lands, these casinos were legalized under federal law, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 1988, which was enacted to give the indigenous tribes of the US the opportunity to profit from gambling on their tribal lands.

North Dakota legalized tribal casinos in 1992, currently, there are 12 tribal casinos operating within the Peace Garden State’s borders. The legal casino age in North Dakota is 21, meaning that only those who are 21 and older can gamble at one of the state’s tribal casinos.

The tribal casinos are governed through tribal compacts made between the local tribes and the state. North Dakota, at last count, had entered into compacts with five of the state’s local tribes. These compacts dictate what class of games the casinos may offer, the most recent compacts allow for casinos in North Dakota to offer Class III casino games which include traditional table casino games and electronic gaming machines.

The legal casino age limit in North Dakota is most likely set to 21 as this is also the legal drinking age across the US. All tribal casinos in North Dakota serve alcohol and it makes things a lot easier for the local tribes if they only allow entry to those who they can legally serve alcohol to, as this allows them to avoid any issues that will arise from serving underage minors.

Gambling at the tribal casinos in North Dakota has become a popular past time amongst the state’s residents since the first casino opened its doors in 1992. While there is obviously an appetite for casino games in the state, North Dakota’s state legislature is still reticent to legalize commercial casinos. There is still a strong conservative faction within the state that is against legalizing further forms of gambling, while this faction still holds sway in the state it is likely that commercial casinos will remain a distant dream for North Dakota.

What are The Casinos In North Dakota that accept 18 year Olds?

There are no casinos in North Dakota that accept 18-year-olds . The legal entry age to gamble at casinos in North Dakota is 21 for all tribal casinos operating in the state. However, 18-year-olds who are keen to wager in the Peace Garden State should not be disheartened there are still forms of gambling they can enjoy. In North Dakota, 18-year-olds are able to participate in the state lottery, pari-mutuel wagering, and Daily Fantasy Sports.

For those who are above the age of 21, and who want to gamble at one of North Dakota’s tribal casinos, we have pulled together the names and addresses of the top eight tribal casino’s operating in the state in the table below.

Sports Betting In North Dakota

Unlike many of its neighboring states, North Dakota is yet to legalize sports betting. With typography that lends itself to outdoor activity and sports, it is very unusual that such a sports-friendly state is yet to legalize sports betting. As sports betting is not legal there is no legal North Dakota gambling age limit for it.

The fact that sports betting is not legal in North Dakota is not from want of locals trying to get it legalized. After the overturn of the Professional and Amateur Sporting Protection Act 1992 (PASPA) in 2018, a huge raft of American states moved to legalize sports betting. As recently as 2019 two bills were proposed to North Dakota’s state legislature that would have legalized sports betting within the Peace Garden state, however, both were struck down before they could be turned into law. So while there is the ground support amongst the public, North Dakota’s state legislature still remains anti-sports betting.

Sports fans in North Dakota should not despair though, there are still a few forms of sports wagering that are legal in the Peace Garden State. Since 1990 residents over the age of 18 have been able to place pari-mutuel bets on horse racing at one of the states’ two horse racing tracks. Also, residents of North Dakota can play Daily Fantasy Sports, which while not being expressly legal is still available to residents – we will discuss this in more detail later on this page.

ND Online Gambling Age

Online gambling in all forms is completely illegal in North Dakota. As all forms of online gaming are illegal in North Dakota there is no legal online gambling age. While North Dakota’s state legislature has not introduced laws that explicitly state that playing for real money online is illegal it instead has interpreted its illegality through the already established gambling statutes. Under the state’s constitution, it is illegal to operate a gaming device, the state has interpreted ‘gambling device’ to include within its definition all technological devices that allow access to the internet ie: computers, tablets, and mobiles.

While North Dakota has made all forms of online gambling completely illegal, residents still may be able to access online casino pages that are run by offshore entities. However, wagering on these websites is not advised for several reasons. Firstly, online gambling is completely illegal in North Dakota, anyone caught playing online could be prosecuted. Secondly, none of the offshore entities who manage these websites are registered or licensed in the US – therefore any players who encounter any issues on these sites will have no recourse against the operators under US consumer protection laws.

Poker Gambling Age

Like all other forms of online gambling, online poker is also illegal in North Dakota. However, fans of poker can still play at the state’s many tribal casinos who under their tribal compacts are able to host poker games onsite. Under North Dakota’s gambling laws charitable organizations are also able to host poker games in aid of charitable causes.

While few states such as Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware are opening up their gambling laws to allow for online games such as online poker, North Dakota’s conservative legislature still appears to be a long way off taking the leap into online gaming.

Daily Fantasy Sports

Daily Fantasy Sports is available for residents of North Dakota to play. Daily Fantasy Sports operates in a very grey area of the law in the Peace Garden State, it is neither technically legal nor illegal. Instead, Daily Fantasy Sports operators operate in North Dakota arguing that they can as the game has implied legality.

The implied legality argument stems from a federal declaration a couple of years ago that Daily Fantasy Sports can be classed as a game of skill and not chance. Therefore, if it is a game of skill then it is not governed by the state’s gambling laws as these are limited to governing games of chance or an event in which ‘the person taking the risk has no control’.

The fact that Daily Fantasy Sports has been able to operate without any issues over the past few years must be a joy to North Dakota’s sports fans. While North Dakota’s legislature hasn’t made any moves about legalizing Daily Fantasy Sports in the past few years, this could change soon as through legalizing the game the state will be able to impose taxes on the operators and future proof the industry by clearing up any legal uncertainties surrounding the game’s operations in North Dakota.

Legal Age to Play the Lottery in North Dakota

North Dakota was one of the more recent states in the US to adopt a state lottery. The lottery was legalized in the Peace Garden State in 2002, with the first ticket being drawn in 2003. Since it’s inception the North Dakota Lottery has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for the state’s general fund which is used to fund state-run infrastructure and initiatives.

With a huge range of local and multi-jurisdictional games on offer, including Powerball, Mega Millions, and Lucky for Life it is no wonder North Dakota’s residents are such big fans of the lottery.

To make lottery that much easier for residents, North Dakota, in an unusual move for the conservative state, legalized an online lottery a few years ago. The online lottery is run via the North Dakota Lottery’s branded app. The app allows players to not only purchase tickets online but also scan and check to see if any tickets they have purchased are winners while also allowing active players to earn bonus points through buying online. This move has been incredibly lucrative for the state by not only opening up the lottery to more players, but it also allows existing players access to more lottery games from the comfort of their own homes.

North Dakota Gambling Laws & Future Outlook

North Dakota’s gambling laws can be found in the state’s constitution under codes 12 and 53. Within these codes gambling is defined as, ‘Risking something of value for gain, contingent, wholly or partially, upon lot, chance, operation of gambling apparatus, or happening or outcome of an event, including elections or sporting events, over which person taking risk has no control’. In accordance with this definition, most modern forms of betting would be illegal in the state.

In order to circumvent the blanket illegality placed on gambling in the state, the legal forms of gaming have been enabled as exceptions to the gambling laws through several different means. Tribal casinos are allowed to operate as an exception as specific federal legislation allows for their existence, and North Dakota has created specific state laws to allow for it as well. Whereas, Daily Fantasy Sports operates under the understanding that as it is a game of skill and not chance it is not governed by gambling laws.

Relative to its population and reputation as quite a conservative state North Dakota’s gambling market is booming. With tribal casinos making a $490 million economic footprint in the state each year, alongside a highly popular state lottery, North Dakota’s gambling industry is making a significant donation to the state’s economy each year.

There are taxes on gambling winnings in North Dakota. They are considered personal income and are therefore taxed at each individual’s personal income tax rate. Other forms of real money playing such as the state lottery also have additional federal state taxes applied. For any lottery winning above $5,000, players must also pay an additional 25% in federal taxes alongside 2.9% in state taxes.

Currently, North Dakota is still viewed as a very conservative state when it comes to gambling laws. There are still severe limitations on the types of gambling that can be enjoyed within the state borders, and two of the most popular forms of gambling are able to exist through federal declarations.

The only new form of gambling with a decent amount of traction behind it is sports betting. Two bills were introduced in 2019 in an attempt to legalize sports betting in North Dakota, but both were struck down by the state’s legislature. However, there is hope that it should soon be legalized in 2020 once some final kinks in the bills being proposed are sorted out.

There is obviously an appetite for gambling within the Peace Garden State as evidenced by the large revenue tribal casinos and the state lottery rake in each year. While there aren’t any legal changes on the horizon, should North Dakota want to increase its state coffers legalizing further forms of gambling in the state should be the way to do it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Now you have got to the end of this page, we hope you now have a good understanding of the state’s gaming laws and the legal North Dakota gambling age for each form of legal gambling in the state. Should you have any additional questions take a look through the answers to the most frequently asked questions below.