Mixed age limits. Some states allow gambling for ages 18 and up or 21 and up, some depending on the particular casino, others depending on the particular casino game. For example, Florida allows those 18 and up to gamble on pari-mutuels, bingo, and poker, but has an age minimum of 21 for slots. States with mixed age limits include: Florida; New. The Florida drinking age is the same as the national drinking age, which is 21. Florida alcohol laws state that bartenders must be 18 years of age. Servers, also, can be 18, and 18-year-olds can work in a liquor store provided that they don’t actually handle or sell the alcohol.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Legislature is rolling into the sixth week of its annual session and there’s a big question out there: can legislators cut a deal on gambling in the Sunshine State?
Gambling is technically illegal in Florida, but it’s allowed at casinos owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and it’s also allowed at dog and horse tracks scattered throughout the state.
In the last several years legislators have considered several gambling proposals, including ones that would allow new casinos in South Florida, but those bills haven’t made it to the finish line because each year there’s been huge disagreements among the tribe, track owners and those who don’t want any more gambling in the state.
A Senate committee on Monday is scheduled to consider yet another proposal.
The initial bill filed by Sen. Travis Hutson was a stripped down proposal that allowed dog and horse tracks to keep open their poker rooms even if they stopped conducting live races. The bill (SB 840) would also make it clear that Floridians who bet on fantasy football and fantasy baseball aren’t breaking the law.
Hutson, however, on Friday added major changes to his bill, including proposing a new agreement with the Seminole Tribe that would allow them to offer craps and roulette at their casinos across the state.
The House has its own gambling proposal, but it has major differences with the Senate so it’s not clear if a deal can be worked out between now and the end of the session in early March.
The Florida House on Wednesday is going to consider a bill (HB 335) that would place limits on child marriage but would not ban it completely. The Senate has already passed a bill that would ban marriage for anyone under the age of 18. House Speaker Richard Corcoran, however, thinks there should be exceptions for 16- and 17-year-olds in cases where the girl is pregnant.
Other bills coming up next week include:
-A measure that calls for Florida to remain in Daylight Saving Time all year instead of limiting it between March and November. Americans move their clocks up one hour each spring and then move them back later in the year.
The full House will consider the bill (HB 1013) on Wednesday, although the Florida Legislature doesn’t have the final say. Congress would need to amend existing federal law to allow the change.
-A Senate committee on Wednesday will consider a bill (SB 462) that would prohibit hydraulic fracturing, or fracking in Florida. This is the second stop for the legislation, but it is not moving in the House.
-The Florida House is scheduled to take up a measure that would create a uniform system for municipal elections. Currently, cities do not have to hold elections at the same date as federal and state elections. The bill sponsored by Rep. Matt Caldwell (HB 7037) would limit city elections to three different times. Municipalities could hold their elections during the same times as other elections or they hold them in November of odd-numbered years or in March.
- A bill that would ease some of the restrictions now in place for so-called payday loans will be considered by a House committee on Tuesday. The House Government Operations and Technology Appropriations Subcommittee is scheduled to consider legislation (HB 857) that would double the current limit on the loans from $500 to $1,000 and would allow lenders to give 60-to-90 day loans.
Consumer advocates contend the bill, which is also being opposed by a large number of churches and religious organizations, would create a debt trap for poor people. Back in 2001, the state cracked down on loans where lenders give borrowers money in exchange for holding a postdated check as collateral.
Backers of the bill say they need to change the law because of potential new federal regulations.
Every teenager eventually runs into prohibitions based on age. To a 15-year-old it’s understandable why a 5-year-old shouldn’t be allowed to drive.
But why do you have to wait another year to get a driver’s license?
And if you have a summer job, why can’t you spend your money on alcohol, cigarettes, and gambling the way 18-year-old or 21-year old friends and relatives do? Best numbers to pick on a roulette table play.
Everyone feels “mature enough” to make mature decisions before their elders say they’re ready.
But is the nearly universal prohibition on underage gambling based on tradition or some scientifically established fact?
Reflecting upon all the factors a gambling establishment, either online or land-based must consider, several reasons come to mind.
Age of Majority
This seems to be the most important factor.
Despite any precocious emotional or intellectual maturity young people may possess, in most jurisdictions, an age of majority prevails.
The age of majority determines when an individual can enter into legally binding contracts. A law-abiding gambling company cannot do business with minors.
Every member of an online casino must register and honestly affirm their age. To collect winnings they must prove their identity and age eligibility.
If a minor successfully enters a land-based casino, plays a game, and collects a modest stake, the casino has broken the law. The young player may get away with it.
But if the young player wins a jackpot requiring any kind of paperwork the casino won’t honor the win.
Not only do they not have to honor the win they legally cannot.
Laws Governing Gambling Activities
Governments around the world decided not to allow minors to gamble in licensed establishments. Gambling laws take the decision out of the casinos’ hands.
Many teens learn how to play blackjack, poker, roulette, and other gambling games at home or from their friends.
They may even play for money in unlicensed gaming situations.
If caught by authorities the teens may not be prosecuted, but game organizers would almost certainly be arrested.
Teens’ parents are also held accountable for the behavior of their children.
But how often do teenagers take unwarranted risks without thinking about the consequences for themselves or others?
Age restrictions on gambling fall into a complex system of laws designed to protect young individuals from making life-destroying choices.
Emotional and Intellectual Maturity is Vital to Managing Risk
While few fully mature adults (estimates range from 5% to 10%) are considered gambling addicts, many acquired addictive habits while still adolescents.
Science is still uncertain about when people become fully mature adults. In 2014 the National Academy of Sciences proposed that ages 18-26 be considered the final stage of emotional and intellectual development.
The truth is that science has yet to show at what age the general population can make good choices about risky behavior. This goes well beyond gambling and into many types of activities.
Teens are not permitted to compete in many types of professional sports. They may lack the physical characteristics and training to compete, but their mental abilities are not yet ripe.
Social concerns about teens’ readiness to make important choices are reinforced by one disturbing study: a 20-year study found that children experiencing stress do mature faster than their peers.
This is not a justification for allowing some teens to gamble, smoke, drink, or take other risks. It’s clear confirmation that young people are not naturally ready to make adult choices. Gambling is all about risk, and society has deemed it’s too risky for young individuals.
Gambling Requires Financial Responsibility
If you gamble, you’re staking something of value. In both online and offline gambling establishments, money is at stake.
And gamblers are expected to cover their losses.
Florida Gambling Age Limits
Unfortunately, this is easy to do with debt. You can borrow $1000 and take it to the casino. All the casino can do is insist you put money on the table before they allow you to pay.
Online casinos can only insist you deposit funds into your account before playing.
An emancipated teenager has the right to earn a supporting income, but most teens are not emancipated. Without the ability to enter into legal contracts, they can’t even borrow money.
Ironically, even though casinos don’t care where you get your money, they need you to bring in new money every time you gamble.
They’re counting on your losses for their profits.
Having a steady income, being able to support yourself, and budgeting a reasonable amount for entertainment makes you a more desirable customer for a casino. A business that depends on financially unstable teenagers accepts greater risks than most casinos do.
How’s that for irony?
Younger People Are More Susceptible to Addictive Behavior
Although science still has much to learn about how the brain develops and works, recent findings show that adolescents are more prone to addiction than adults.
An individual who grows to adulthood in a supportive, healthy environment is less likely to become an addict.
Florida Gambling Age Limit 2019
There are no guarantees in life, but requiring teens to wait before taking some risks helps them later in life.
Gambling addiction is the number 1 reason why some organizations oppose the spread of organized, legal gambling. The cost to society of treating addiction is calculable.
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But that cost rises as one considers secondary issues, such as criminal behavior driven by addiction. Many crimes are committed by non-addicted people, but the connection between addiction and crime is undisputed.
Age-restrictive laws are intended to ensure that young people have a fair chance to grow to full maturity in safe environments. By holding adults accountable for how they interact with teenagers, society hopes to prevent some exploitative situations. And let’s face it: some adults are unscrupulous enough to intentionally manipulate less mature teens into bad situations.
What Is the Youngest Legal Gambling Age in the World?
It’s impossible to be sure, but this Wikipedia article lists no age restriction for a Category D gaming machine in the United Kingdom.
The same article includes a few other restrictionless forms of gambling:
- Private or non-commercial gaming and betting
- Equal chance gaming (prize gaming permitted or licensed family entertainment)
- Prize gaming at an unlicensed family entertainment centre or traveling fair
- The United Kingdom also permits 16-year-olds to gamble in:
- National lottery
- Scratch off ticket games
- Football pools
Another country enacting unusual gambling laws is Afghanistan.
They forbid all land-based gambling activities, but anyone of any age can gamble in an online system. Afghanistan may not be known for its high-speed Internet, but cell phones are widely used there. The Wikipedia article says that Tunisia may have inadvertently made gambling legal for all ages by failing to make it illegal for all ages.
The country of Malawi in southeastern Africa allows children as young as 5 to gamble in land-based casinos.
Other than the exceptions noted above, gambling laws around the world set the minimum age at either 18 or 21.
Also, the Wikipedia article may not be up-to-date, and some of the points listed above could be inconsistent with current laws in the countries named.
Florida Gambling Age Limit Vs
Conclusion
The ancient Roman writer Tacitus wrote in his famous treatise, The Germania, that the ancient Germans of his time had a reputation for gambling:
“An amazing thing to us is that they practise gambling as the serious occupation of their sober hours; and they hazard to win or lose so recklessly that, when all he has is gone, a player will stake his personal liberty on a last and decisive throw.
If he loses he goes into voluntary slavery; and, although he may be the younger and the stronger man, he suffers himself to be bound and to be sold. They exhibit herein a most perverse obstinacy, and call it paying a debt of honour.
Successful gamblers get rid of the slaves held under this title by selling them to the merchants in order to escape their share of the shame.”
While some historians question the accuracy of Tacitus’ description, there is some universal truth to the matter. Gambling has earned a hard reputation through the centuries. Some people do lose everything. For that reason society has learned to protect its youngest members (in most countries) from taking such risks until they have grown to an age to make sound decisions.
Life doesn’t promise we’ll always make the right decisions. That’s why we make laws to slow us down when we’re most apt to rush in where angels fear to tread.