Gambling Lives But Not Money

My 18th birthday, in spite of the lack of festivities, was a significant occasion. At 18, I could vote, buy lottery tickets, pornography, and cigarettes, sign my own name on legally binding contracts, get my senior drivers license, and be drafted into the army. Yet, the list of things I could not legally do was still a formidable one. And, high on that list, were alcohol consumption and gambling.

While most people look forward to their 21st birthday as the day they will finally be able to drink (legally), the gambling age has received little scrutiny. A search on LexisNexis of the “major papers” for “gambling” and “21” in the past year returned no results that related to the age limit. It seems that while gambling is under scrutiny as a whole, the terms under which it occurs are not.

It is ironic and hypocritical that the gambling age in most gambling establishments in the U.S. remains at 21, and of the states with a legal gambling age of 18 at least four are in the process of raising the limit to 21.

Undoubtedly, turning 18 is a significant milestone in American life. At that age, a U.S. citizen often is asked to gamble things far more serious than their money: their lives.

As soon as U.S. citizens turn 18, they are eligible to be drafted into the army; high schools in America are required by law to submit information on all 18- year-old males to the federal government in case of a draft. Many Americans choose to join the army of their own free will at this age—choosing to risk their lives for the sake of their country. But at 18, American still may not go to a casino in most parts of our country. At 18 years of age, an Americans can gamble their lives, but not their money.

Holding the gambling age at 21 is inconsistent, for at 18, a person can buy a lottery ticket in most states. The lottery is a very popular form of gambling. By buying a ticket for a dollar (or more), a person can get lucky and win millions of dollars. This is no different in principle or substance from walking into a casino, putting down a dollar and picking a number in roulette. But there is a difference legally: while 18 year-olds can buy a lottery ticket, they cannot play roulette.

This is an inconsistency that needs to be rectified. If 18-year-olds can legally buy lottery tickets, there is no reason they should not be able to enter a casino to play a poker game or drop a quarter in a slot machine.

Some may argue that the casino environment is unsuitable for a teenager. Often, alcohol abounds, and at 18, the person cannot legally drink. Yet, gambling and alcohol do not necessarily need to be related. One could attend a casino without drinking, or could be carded for drinks at the bar or by waitresses (just as they are already carded to gamble in the first place).

Furthermore, the rest of the world does not seem to be following the trend set by the U.S. Many countries abroad have recently lowered the legal gambling age, including France, the Bahamas, and 12 of the German Länder.



The U.S. should place a priority on being consistent—both within internally and with the world at large. The gambling age should be set nationally at 18. At 21, it is undermined by one’s ability to buy lottery tickets (in all states but Iowa), play charity bingo (in all states but Alaska) and engage in parimutuel betting (in all states but Iowa and Texas). It is also undermined by one’s ability to gamble one’s life by serving in the military, and to gamble the future of the country by voting for the president and other elected officials. People gamble in different ways every day, and at 18, a person should be considered old enough to gamble at a casino legally.



Reva P. Minkoff ’08, a Crimson editorial editor, is a government concentrator in Pforzheimer House.