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

The Maryland gambling age varies depending on which discipline you participate in, and the purpose of this review is to clarify the age restrictions and legality of each in the table below. The legal landscape is constantly evolving, the issues that determine the legality and age limit of a particular gaming subtype are often deeply political, further complicating the future resolutions. The legal gambling age is 21 years old for entering a casino or playing poker, and 18 years old for all other disciplines including lottery and bingo. Throughout the remainder of this article we’ll look in closer detail at the legal circumstances of each betting subtype, discuss the best casino in this state, and look ahead to the future at potential changes to the law and online gambling age.

The overview offered in the table above is a clear insight into the key data concerning legal gambling ages in Maryland. As is evident, the state of Maryland takes a no nonsense approach to online gambling, and has practically outlawed all forms of betting or wagering that involve an internet connection. Despite this, in-person gambling is still fully endorsed and licensed by the state. There are 15 casinos located across the state, and given the high-concentration of inhabitants in cities such as Baltimore and Ocean City, these are stretched to capacity to service the huge demand for legal gambling that exists. In the following sections of this page you’ll be able to learn more about the unique legal restrictions of each gambling discipline within the state of Maryland, and we will conclude by looking ahead to the future potential of widespread online gambling reforms in this state.

Legal Gambling Age in Maryland for Casino

There are many wonderful ways to enjoy gambling for residents and visitors to the state of Maryland, but by far the most rewarding is the casino. The legal gambling age in Maryland for admission is set at the national benchmark of 21 years old, the reason it is not 18 like many other betting types is due to the integration of alcohol into the operating model of casinos. The licensing agreements that casino bosses comply to are strict and take a no second-chances approach to partners breaching their guidelines. In order to maintain this vital source of revenue and entertainment for their customers, casinos cannot take the risk of allowing young adults into their venues and thus set the age limit at 21 years old.

Upon entering one of the many luxury casinos situated in this state you will realize just why it’s considered one of the gambling capitals of the country. The city of Baltimore is home to some incredible venues, and you’ll be able to experience plenty of high-quality casino classics including roulette, blackjack and craps at Maryland casinos. Just by having a licensed and regulated casino industry on this scale puts Maryland up in the top tier of gambling states in America. The progressive approach towards Maryland gambling age legal code for casinos means millions of inhabitants have easy access to gambling products if and when they desire them.

Which Casinos In MD Accept 18 Year-olds?

If it is your desire as a young adult to find 18 year old casinos in Maryland, then sadly you will be disappointed to learn that all such establishments in this state enforce a strict over 21 policy. With 15 registered and fully licensed casino operators throughout the state, Maryland can certainly be regarded as one of the few gambling epicenters of America. Throughout the country there are many wonderful examples of progressive gambling and casino laws, the Maryland endorsement of public freedom to gamble has allowed a high-quality commercial casino industry to flourish. The casinos listed below represent some of the finest options in the state. Although they may not be quite on the same footing as Las Vegas or Macau, they offer residents and tourists a close-to-home alternative and are backed favorably by public opinion and politicians alike.

Sports Betting In Maryland

It is regretful to report that sports betting is prohibited throughout Maryland. The gambling age Maryland takes a tough stance against sports betting and has resisted calls to introduce a legalized system of sports betting for a while. With such a strong performance across the board for many disciplines of gambling, it is severely disappointing to see that lawmakers in Maryland still resist calls to introduce a legalized betting industry. This disappointment is further exacerbated due to the love of sport held in this state, with global audiences watching the world-famous Baltimore Ravens in the NFL – it remains a great shame that locals are unable to place legal bets on these matches. In the future we fully expect to witness a change in policy on this issue, especially considering the swing in political discourse following the watershed Supreme Court decision to allow states to charter their own path with regards to online sportsbook betting.

MAryland Online Gambling Age

The current status of online gambling throughout the country is not so great, and the majority of states are still radically opposed to introducing online betting and casinos as a normal part of daily life in their jurisdiction. The casino age in Maryland for online sites is not set explicitly, due to it being completely illegal, however, if it were to be drafted into legislation there would be an expectation that this age limit would be lowered from the current limit on normal casinos. Young adults from 18 years old are usually allowed to use online gambling products in parts of the world where they are legal and regulated. With the absence of alcohol from the equation the legal gambling age in Maryland for a future online casino market would likely be 18 years old.

The majority of jurisdictions across the United States have drastically failed to address the online gambling issues within their society. On the one hand, making these products illegal does in theory prevent vulnerable people who may be prone to gambling addiction having easy access. But as has become evident, in practice people who are motivated to gamble online have very little trouble accessing the platforms hosted offshore – these unregulated and foreign operators fulfill this demand and generate vast revenues as a reward. This outflow of capital is damaging both economically and politically, as it squanders potential tax dollars for the state and it demonstrates the ineptitude of lawmakers with their inability to enact gambling reforms to modernize with the online services economy of today.

Poker Gambling Age

The legal gambling age in Maryland for poker is set at the benchmark level of 21 years old. This typical threshold is the level that the majority of states with a licensed poker gaming sector decide to go for. Fortunately, the lawmakers of Maryland have seen poker for what it truly is, a game of skill, decision-making and mathematical ability – unlike states where poker is illegal who claim it is no different to other forms of gambling like roulette and slot machines. The card rooms across this state are usually affiliated with the grand casinos, and you will find many opportunities to engage in various poker formats at the casinos we listed above.

Daily Fantasy Sports

Daily fantasy sports are another wonderful form of gambling that is often overlooked for its ability to make its participants exceedingly rich. The gambling age Maryland for daily fantasy sports sits at 18 years old, making this an incredibly accessible gambling type. The two industry leading providers of daily fantasy sports are FanDuel and DraftKings – both of which have developed high-quality applications to companion their desktop platform. To get involved, simply download their app and create an account – you’ll then need to put your sporting knowledge and instinct to the test, selecting players that perform well in the real fixtures enables you to win cash prizes and climb leaderboards against other players.

Legal Age to Play the Lottery in Maryland

The Maryland lottery since launching in 1973 has rewarded over $25bn in prize money and raised over $16bn for that state through taxation of winnings. The state enforces an 18+ policy across their entire catalog of lottery gaming options, which there are many, including a huge range of instant win scratchers, national draw lotteries like Powerball, and locally maintained draw games that help invest money directly back into the heart of Maryland communities. The societal benefits of lottery gambling in Maryland are clear and plain to see – the one issue remains however and that is the lack of online integration to purchase tickets. In order to scale up the cash inflow potential of the lottery scheme lawmakers and private companies are desperately searching for viable ticket purchasing and gaming options that can be done remotely. But for now, online lottery ticket purchasing is not sanctioned by the governing authorities.

Maryland Gambling Laws & Future Outlook

The future of Maryland gambling looks bright, there are a number of battles ongoing throughout the local politics of this state and it remains a continuous battle between those seeking to reform the online gambling freedoms of the people and conservative anti-gambling advocates. In the reform side there is an incredibly active and vocal campaign to extend the accessibility to all forms of gaming through online capabilities, and also to bring about a licensed and locally regulated sports betting industry. With public opinion and political discourse convinced that this is indeed the best route forward, it is merely an implementation issue.

Gambling has and will always be a great indicator of the social freedoms of the state inhabitants. The local casino industry is in the hands of a few large conglomerate organizations that each control huge portions of the market. Whilst the legal Maryland gambling age remains at 21 years old for land-based casino wagering, it remains to be seen if the online counterparts will be granted the same level of restriction or will permit young adults from the age of 18.

The future outlook of gambling in Maryland looks particularly positive, mainly due to the well-established infrastructure of casinos that already exist, not to mention the huge state lottery. Going forward there are clear bottlenecks to address – the implementation of an online ecosystem where residents can safely engage in gambling activities should be a key priority. Not only will it enable greater accessibility to the products, but allow for better analysis of gambling behavior to help guide future legislative action in the industry. Head on back to the homepage to learn more about US state gambling ages around the country.

Frequently Asked Questions

Throughout this article we have given the latest information regarding the legal gambling age in Maryland. If you have any further concerns look below to our most frequently asked questions and answers, and you may just find what you’re looking for.