Washington DC Gambling Age: Casinos, Sports Betting & More

Generally, Washington DC is considered to be a pretty restrictive place for gambling. while Washington DC is not technically a state it operates under laws that are passed by a council, the majority of these laws are influenced by the federal government’s stance on certain legal issues. because of this, almost all forms of online gaming are illegal and there are no race tracks, bookmakers or Indian or commercial casinos an operation in Washington DC.

Given Washington DC’s close proximity to Maryland, residents who wish to gamble can easily cross the border in order to do so. Currently, the only forms of gambling that can be undertaken legally In Washington DC is the Washington DC lottery and Daily Fantasy Sports. Below you can find a Washington D.C. gambling age chart that lists all ages to play.

in the table above you will see the legal gambling ages required to participate in each form of legal wagering in Washington DC. As you can see from reading the table the age requirements for both forms of legal gambling allowed in Washington DC is 18. If there is not an age listed then that form of gaming is most likely illegal within Washington DC.

On this page we will discuss in great detail Washington DC’s laws and the legal gambling age that is required to participate in real money games. We will also discuss Washington DC’s gambling law history, as well as looking to the future and giving you some insight into whether there is any law reform on the horizon.

Casino Age in Washington DC

Washington DC being the capital of the United States is an incredibly small territory, it is often overlooked and its gambling economy is considered inconsequential compared to the size of its neighbouring states such as Virginia and Maryland. However, while the related economy might not be big it does exist and as Washington DC is the home of the federal government most of its laws are based on federal rulings.

Due to the size of Washington DC, there are no casinos an operation within the state, this includes commercial casinos and tribal casinos. There have been little to no moves by Washington DC’s legal counsel to legalize in-person casino gambling. There is little to no want amongst Washington DC’s residents for casinos to be established within the territorial area.

As mentioned above several neighbouring states such as Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and New Jersey have thriving gambling economies which include casino gaming and should Washington DC residents have the need to gamble at a land-based casino they can simply travel across the border and do so in one of these neighbouring states.

What are The Casinos In Washington DC that accept 18 year Olds?

As there are no commercial casinos an operation in Washington DC, it follows that there are no casinos that allow entry to 18-year-olds. The two legal forms of gambling allowed within Washington DC do allow for them to participate, these two forms are Washington DC’s lottery and Daily Fantasy Sports. For more information about the legal age in Washington DC take a look at our easy to read gambling ages table located at the top of this page.

Sports Betting In Washington DC

Historically, all forms of sports betting have been illegal in Washington DC. This complete ban on sports betting seems at odds with Washington DC’s traditional stance of following federal law rulings when it comes to establishing the doors for its territory.

The Professional And Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) was repealed by the Supreme Court in 2018, After this Supreme Court ruling, many states across the US moved to legalize sports betting especially online sports betting. as mentioned just above Washington DC generally follows federal law declarations so it is unusual that it did not automatically legalize sports betting.

However, in good news for Washington DC, sports fans as of May in 2019 sports betting was authorized within the territory. this rolling it was a long time coming and was widely supported by the territory’s congressional members. The proposed bill authorizes sports betting on online platforms, to be primarily operated by the state lottery, as well as physical sportsbooks in four locations across the territory.

To date, no sports bets have been placed due to a hold up in the rollout of the sports betting law, and the impact COVID-19 has had on the territory’s governance. Washington DC residents should not be disheartened though as sports fishing will be instigated within the state albeit a lot later than expected.

DC Online Gambling Age

Washington DC has no online gambling industry. Due to the fact that Washington DC is a territory and not a state, there have been few attempts to establish an online wagering industry within the territories limits. Further, Washington DC’s laws are very explicit in their ban of any form of casino gambling whether it is online or land-based.

Sadly for players who wish to gamble online, there seems to be no upcoming change that would lift the ban on all forms of online gambling in the near future. Washington DC takes its lead from federal declarations or laws. And as there is yet to be certain clarity on a federal level as to the legality of online gambling Washington DC decided not to wade into that discussion And instead wait until a certain Federal declaration is made, or until at least The Supreme Court it makes a final declaration as to the interpretation of the Federal Wire Act 1961 and how it applies to placing bets online.

Residents of Washington DC may notice that they are able to access online gaming websites run by offshore entities, while these websites may be appealing to residents caution is advised when gambling on them. As these websites are run by optional entities the companies themselves are not registered or licensed within the US, This means that should any player have an issue when gambling on these websites they would have no recourse against the operators under US consumer protection laws.

Poker Gambling Age

As poker is generally considered a casino table game, it should come as no surprise that poker of all forms is illegal in Washington DC. Unfortunately for fans of the world’s most popular casino game, this blanket illegality on all forms of poker looks unlikely to change anytime soon.

Unless Washington DC’s governing bodies choose to do a complete 180 on their current stance on casino gambling poker fans will have to travel elsewhere to get their poker fix. Thankfully for Washington DC residents they will not have to travel too far to be able to play a game of in-person poker, Maryland across the border offers poker at many of the state’s land-based casinos. While New Jersey and Delaware further to the South both have thriving online poker industries which residents and visitors to the state alike can enjoy.

Daily Fantasy Sports

While there is no official law that has been passed in Washington DC regarding the legality of Daily Fantasy Sports, Daily Fantasy Sports operates within the state under a cloud of implied legality and many operators argue it is considered to be legal as it is not governed by the state’s gambling laws.

Given that Washington DC tends to follow all federal law declarations regarding forms of gambling, the fact that Daily Fantasy Sports is tolerated within the state should come as no surprise. In 2016 a federal declaration declared that Daily Fantasy Sports passed a predominance test the gauged is how much of a game is based on skill and how much of it is based on chance, the results determined that skilled players were far more likely to succeed then amateurs when playing Daily Fantasy Sports and therefore the game could be classed as a game of skill. By being classed as a game of skill Daily Fantasy Sports does not fall within the remit of the territory’s gambling rules As these govern games of chance.

Daily Fantasy Sports continues to operate under the umbrella of implied legality in Washington DC and it doesn’t seem as if there will be any more moves to regulate the industry in the coming years. Most of the territories attention in the gambling sphere is currently focused on getting sports betting up and running within the state as this is projected to bring in a lot of revenue for the district via taxes placed on winnings and operators.

Legal Age to Play the Lottery in Washington DC

Washington DC has had a very popular lottery in place since 1982. While there is no online lottery within the state, the legal Washington DC gambling age for the lotto is 18.

Over the years the popularity of Washington DC state lottery has only grown And the state offers an incredible range of games to players, including multi-jurisdictional powerhouses Powerball, Mega Millions and Lucky for Life. The jackpots for these games are incredibly high as they operate in many state’s across the country, and lucky for residents of Washington DC it has a very good record of winners.

While there is currently not an online lottery on offer for residents of Washington DC, the capital was the first to introduce a form of online lottery in the US, however, this was quickly scrapped after its introduction. Given that an online lottery has operated within Washington DC in the past it is not beyond the realms of possibility that it may operate within the state again one day – but for now the state’s governing bodies seem more focused on establishing a sports betting industry than growing the state lottery’s offering.

Washington DC Gambling Laws & Future Outlook

Washington DC’s statutes make confusing reading as there is a patchwork of definitions included that why the only slightly reference or skirt around the issue of illegal gambling. Few of these areas are clearly defined within these statutes, and it is hard to determine which definition Is the most accurate in amongst the various statutes that reference gambling.

Probably the most accurate definition of what forms of gaming are considered wagering can be found within Washington DC’s Code under title 22 which defines each form of gambling what is legal and what is considered illegal in the state. But does not include a blanket definition of gambling.

The gambling economy in Washington DC is currently quite limited with only the Washington DC lottery providing any form of revenue for the territory. wild early fantasy sports is tolerated within the territory it is not regulated and therefore the territory cannot gain any revenue from it. However, the gambling economy is set to rapidly grow once sports betting comes into full force.

As is the case with most states across the US Washington DC applies taxes to gambling winnings in accordance with the winner’s personal income tax bracket. Certain forms such as the state lottery require an additional federal tax to be paid, in the case of Washington DC any winnings above $5000 requires 25% of federal tax be withheld.

In terms of future developments in Washington DC’s gambling laws as already mentioned, several times on this page both online and in-person sports betting has recently been legalized and it’s slowly being rolled out across the territory. it will be interesting to note how Washington DC’s governing bodies feel about online gaming should online sports betting be a success within the territory, is this could say the floodgates opened and more online gambling forms could be adopted. For more details on this topic regarding other states, check out our full list of legal gambling ages in the USA.

Frequently Asked Questions

We hope that this page has provided you with a good outline of the legality of gambling within Washington DC’s established territory. Should you have any additional questions we have answered the most frequently asked questions below.