What’s the right age to start gambling?

[Cgrexp]

We all know most countries set the legal age to gamble at 18 or 21, but it got me thinking, what really is the right age?

If you’re under 18, you probably don’t fully understand money yet. For teens, most income is from allowance or side gigs, so losing it in slots or sports betting could hurt more than they realize. That’s why rules say they’re not ready, it’s about protecting them from mistakes they can’t handle financially or mentally.

In your early 20s, you start earning your own money, but a lot of people still don’t have discipline. Some see gambling as thrill or quick cash, but they don’t really think long term.

By late 20s or 30s, maybe that’s when most people are financially and mentally stable enough to handle the risks. It doesn’t mean they gamble smarter, but at least they know what’s at stake.

So the bracket looks something like this:
■ Teens - curious but not ready, no stable income
■ Early 20s - earning but often reckless
■ Late 20s and 30s plus - more stability, more awareness of risk

Do you think the legal age limits (18 or 21) actually make sense, or should it be higher or lower depending on maturity?

In most countries, the legal age for gambling is 18 or 21. However, age is never a measure of mental or financial maturity. There are many who can make mature decisions at the age of 18, while many who are over 25 cannot do so. The age of 18 is a time when every person is able to take responsibility for their actions. But at this age, their income is not that high, so if they lose money gambling, it is a big loss for them. In addition to having a legal age limit, emphasis should also be placed on creating awareness and a sense of responsibility.

[nullama]

No matter how big the number to start gambling, as long as it's in the legal age, it should not be a problem. I'm not also concerning so much about mentality caused by different people, different mentality. Just because there is A who is 19 years old and B is 25 years old, we call A has glass mentality compared to the B.
Being younger doesn't mean he has weaker mentality than the older one. Age is just a number here.

Yes, that's kinda how it goes, really.

It first starts with the people that you kinda get together, but in reality it goes way beyond that.

And people know that in a way

[Out of mind]

The right age to start gambling is that we can see most casinos that are 18 plus. But nowadays most of the youth use smartphones before the age of 18+ and they create accounts there from the promotions of various casinos. According to what I have seen, some boys in my area have started using smartphones at the age of 14-15 and they gamble, and they often share them with people. However, there are many casinos that ask people to gamble at the age of 21 but it is made according to the rules of different countries. However, we know that in most of the countries gambling is allowed only for 18 plus people, but nowadays, we see that most of the youth are more immersed in gambling and they participate there even though they are not of age.

[Issa56]

Should having money attract you to gambling at a young age?
If a young person is attracted to gambling, his mind will become centered on gambling from an early age and all his academic activities will be disrupted solely because of gambling.

What I notice is that most young people that gamble always gamble just for the sake of money, most of them believe they can make additional funds from gambling, and that’s why most of them do end up gambling. Just few youths gamble just because they want to have fun, maybe am the only one seeing it like that, but am
Making my conclusion base on what youths in my community are doing, most of them see gambling as a source of income.

At younger age, gambling doesn’t only affect their academic activities, but distract them from other activities, and if they are not careful, they do end up getting addicted to gambling because they going to be carried away easily. Most younger ones are easily brainwashed, when they see people making money from gambling, they going to believe they can also make money from gambling, which at the end, they going to be addicted to gamble.

[Cityhunter34]

Normally 18 years above has always been the right age for someone to start gambling, but due to technology has made so many under age to start gambling and even though they always have this feeling that they can easily get rich overnight. However, sometimes age does not matter, what matters is how capable you are in controling yourself from getting addicted to gambling, is not all about age alone. Because even till now most gamblers are still lacking maturity in gambling which is not suppose to be.

[Leahized]

We all know most countries set the legal age to gamble at 18 or 21, but it got me thinking, what really is the right age?

If you’re under 18, you probably don’t fully understand money yet. For teens, most income is from allowance or side gigs, so losing it in slots or sports betting could hurt more than they realize. That’s why rules say they’re not ready, it’s about protecting them from mistakes they can’t handle financially or mentally.

I think there is no specific age for gambling. It is a surprise to hear that it is reality and correct. If you notice, the most will see teenage gamblers. Although each casino has been fixed at least 18+ years. But no one considers it. Although the icon is sought somewhere, each person creates an account with 18+ and starts betting on the slot game in the casino with money. In this case, we have to do, our children should always keep an eye on them so that they are not addicted and gambling does not survive. Then we can be relaxed, Will not be mentally and financially damaged.

[pawanjain]

We all know most countries set the legal age to gamble at 18 or 21, but it got me thinking, what really is the right age?

If you’re under 18, you probably don’t fully understand money yet. For teens, most income is from allowance or side gigs, so losing it in slots or sports betting could hurt more than they realize. That’s why rules say they’re not ready, it’s about protecting them from mistakes they can’t handle financially or mentally.

In your early 20s, you start earning your own money, but a lot of people still don’t have discipline. Some see gambling as thrill or quick cash, but they don’t really think long term.

By late 20s or 30s, maybe that’s when most people are financially and mentally stable enough to handle the risks. It doesn’t mean they gamble smarter, but at least they know what’s at stake.

So the bracket looks something like this:
■ Teens - curious but not ready, no stable income
■ Early 20s - earning but often reckless
■ Late 20s and 30s plus - more stability, more awareness of risk

Do you think the legal age limits (18 or 21) actually make sense, or should it be higher or lower depending on maturity?

That's an interesting question honestly and I think that there is no right or wrong age to gamble.
One who wants to gamble will just find any way to do it but still 21 years restriction is fine as most people become more mature to understand what they are dealing with at that age.
For people who are under 18 I wouldn't suggest gambling because as you mentioned they probably earn from side gigs and that money is more important to us than to gamble it.
It is something we cannot afford to lose and the first rule in gambling is to gamble with money that you can afford to lose.

[ChocolateBitcoinK]

Normally 18 years above has always been the right age for someone to start gambling, but due to technology has made so many under age to start gambling and even though they always have this feeling that they can easily get rich overnight. However, sometimes age does not matter, what matters is how capable you are in controling yourself from getting addicted to gambling, is not all about age alone. Because even till now most gamblers are still lacking maturity in gambling which is not suppose to be.

In gambling, the maturity of one's own actions, limitations, and self-control are the most important, because here one has to stop oneself at the right time, but if one does not have self-control, then one will not be able to stop oneself at the right time, which will cause harm to oneself and it will eventually make one addicted. However, we cannot ignore the issue of adulthood, because self-control comes deeper in a person only after becoming an adult, so the issue of age is also very important, and along with this, the gambler must have the mental preparation to accept defeat, self-control and responsibility.

[Floxynice]

Yea,  the legal age set by the government makes no sense to me. Anyone who has reached that stage of self discipline and financial awareness can gamble. With these people, the consciousness is in their minds and they will better appreciate gambling as a fun activity than a mega source of income like some gamblers would. Even if people with this level of maturity win, they know how to put that money into good use than spend the money recklessly with the aim of going back to gambling for more.

You have made a very good point but again, this level of maturity comes with certain age limits, it will be super rare to find someone below the ages of 15 having all of this attributes because  at that age they are still within  the formative stage of their teens and only  a very scarce percentage must have figured some of these things out enough to want to implement it as a life skill, and that is why the age limits becomes necessary.

It is all a matter of upbringing and exposure. A 15 years old child might be too young in our eyes, but a child who is raised well will show signs of maturity compared to an adult in his late 30s. I am not encouraging minors to gamble, but age doesn't really mean maturity for some gamblers. Any gambler can be irresponsible and any gambler can be responsible irrespective of their age. The fact still remains that majority of the gamblers we see around are driven by greed to behave the way they do, it is not because they are too young or too old.

[Iroh]

The legal age in most places to be able to partake in adult content and activities is 18 while in some, 21. That's the legal age for one to be allowed to indulge in gambling and other related activites. But being at/over the legal age allowed for such content and activities doesn't automatically make one matured enough. While it makes one legally matured, it doesn't necessarily make everyone who's at/over that age to be financially or/and morally responsible enough to indulge in gambling.
We as individuals are different and we all get matured at our own pace depending on the upbringing as well as several conditions that influences our lives in the society. There isn't any right age in my opinion. When you are financially responsible and obviously above the legal age, only then can you safely indulge in gambling.

[Agbe]

The legal age in most places to be able to partake in adult content and activities is 18 while in some, 21. That's the legal age for one to be allowed to indulge in gambling and other related activites. But being at/over the legal age allowed for such content and activities doesn't automatically make one matured enough. While it makes one legally matured, it doesn't necessarily make everyone who's at/over that age to be financially or/and morally responsible enough to indulge in gambling.
We as individuals are different and we all get matured at our own pace depending on the upbringing as well as several conditions that influences our lives in the society. There isn't any right age in my opinion. When you are financially responsible and obviously above the legal age, only then can you safely indulge in gambling.

I agree with your comment, reaching the legal age doesn't mean you are matured yet, especially when it comes to handling money and making responsible choices like gambling for yourself, gambling is a very hard decision to take and only a matured minded person with a self control and a better understanding can come into it. A person might reach the age of 18 or 21, but without financial discipline or self control, but they are still likely to make mistakes when it comes to gambling decision.
I do agree with your conclusion, there is actually no right ags to gamble. Maturity is individual, some people grow up learning how to manage money wisely, and control themselves while others gree up in a big lifestyle.

[taufik123]

-snip-
For people who are under 18 I wouldn't suggest gambling because as you mentioned they probably earn from side gigs and that money is more important to us than to gamble it.
It is something we cannot afford to lose and the first rule in gambling is to gamble with money that you can afford to lose.

Even if they are over 18 years old if they do not have a job with a definite income then it is not recommended to play in gambling.
Because gambling will require money to play and bet but if you allocate only a little money it will be quite a fun game and depends on the main purpose of gambling.

Young people who start gambling are usually influenced by their environment, some countries allow gambling and every family has their own game
and finally a gambling is normal as long as it can be fully controlled and do not become addicted.

[AYOBA]

No right age to start gambling because I see some teenager below 18 are gambling with their friends. Although that is not like the games that we see in the casino, but they involve money so that still gambling.

I also thought that gambling doesn't matter what age you are, because the number of people who are into it is growing every day, and the majority of them are under the age of 18, so it doesn't matter what age you are. They will start gambling as soon as they see what their friends are doing, and because it is all about money, they will start gambling as soon as they have a small amount of money.

18 or 21 makes sense but we know that gambling can attract young people to start gambling. So they can gamble when they see that is an interesting activity especially if they watch adult people gamble around them.

There’s some places that you can see even the age of the 15 are every deep into the gambling which some are already addicted to the gambling. Yes ooff course is attracting the young ones and that’s they have high numbers of young people that into the gambling, I know that there are also old men’s that are into gambling but their not that much.

[Powerjumboo]

Although the age of 18 plus is always set and mentioned for gambling, but in this online era, this 18 plus is never accepted because now mostly teenagers are participating in gambling. If you look at the statistics, you can see that in the current era, teenagers have mobile phones in their hands, now they can easily participate in gambling through mobile phones if they want. Where it is very easy to register a casino platform and gamble, why wouldn't people gamble?

And with the rampant advertisement of influencers with the casinos they are affiliated with.
This makes the younger ones have more idea of gambling. Despite that their minds are not yet open to it and they have no own money.
They'd do something about it and they're going to ask their parents to gamble if they cannot and even follow up a KYC if it's needed to be done.

In fact, young boys and girls are increasingly attracted to advertisements from influential people associated with casino platforms. Nowadays, young boys and girls are always using mobile phones and they are constantly watching cartoons, reel videos of young children and short videos on their mobile phones for fun and while watching, gambling related advertisements are coming. Seeing all these advertisements, young boys and girls are getting attracted to gambling the most. But the most important thing for me is that parents should be aware. If parents are aware, young boys and girls will stay away from gambling. Young children will make mistakes but those mistakes should be corrected but not by explaining and hitting them.

[GeorgeJohn]

The right age to start gambling is that we can see most casinos that are 18 plus. But nowadays most of the youth use smartphones before the age of 18+

You are right, from 18 years you verify your gambling account, they're restrictions in every gambling for someone who is not up to 18 years to partake in gambling, but the issue is that under ages boycott the process.

and they create accounts there from the promotions of various casinos. According to what I have seen, some boys in my area have started using smartphones at the age of 14-15

that's correct, i have seen so many girls and boys thats using smartphone, especially boys are gambling with their phones, assuming many gambling website accepts KYC Verification that means many under ages won't have the access to create multiple account in gambling site.

they gamble, and they often share them with people. However, there are many casinos that ask people to gamble at the age of 21 but it is made according to the rules of different countries.

Right now it's difficult before you can see a casino of such kind, because many casinos is just interested to have traffic in the gambling,  do you observe currently that casinos are into competition, so they're looking for a way to stay in the market.

[STT]

You can learn about risk in the first years of school almost so I wouldn't call that gambling, I'd say that's a maths lesson and that's the correct order of learning anything or you will get caught out more easily.  Learn how to ride a bike before you are sitting on one going down hill at high speed clearly is the best way to do it.
  The money is secondary but a rule for all is only gamble money you earn, dont borrow it and dont gamble what cant not be replaced in your budget, dont gamble the bill money.  Regardless of age thats a lesson to learn for anyone.

[Tonimez]

You can learn about risk in the first years of school almost so I wouldn't call that gambling, I'd say that's a maths lesson and that's the correct order of learning anything or you will get caught out more easily.  Learn how to ride a bike before you are sitting on one going down hill at high speed clearly is the best way to do it.
  The money is secondary but a rule for all is only gamble money you earn, dont borrow it and dont gamble what cant not be replaced in your budget, dont gamble the bill money.  Regardless of age thats a lesson to learn for anyone.

I think that casinos and almost every gambling sites would always place a limitation to the age requirement for gambling and I think the most acceptable age is the 18 years margin. I don't believe in your idea that age doesn't matter. It really matters because age has a lot to do with our power of choice. Science and humanity has set 18 as the age where every human would be able to make the right decision and understand it.

I don't also think that it is right for anyone to start learning about gambling before the age of 18 because learning about gambling is also a gambling. The moment a person starts learning about a given casino, he has already started gambling because intermittently, he would place a bet to prove his progress. So proper regulation should be put in place to avoid under age gambling at all cost.

You're correct when you said that one should only gamble what he earns and don't borrow money to gamble. A gambler must learn how not to gamble beyond his mean in order to avoid incurring excessive debt due to gambling since it is not guaranteed.

[Belarge]

Normally 18 years above has always been the right age for someone to start gambling, but due to technology has made so many under age to start gambling and even though they always have this feeling that they can easily get rich overnight. However, sometimes age does not matter, what matters is how capable you are in controling yourself from getting addicted to gambling, is not all about age alone. Because even till now most gamblers are still lacking maturity in gambling which is not suppose to be.

Gambling is not for everyone, there are mostly roughly features that follows for gamblers who are tender. They're probably expose to the intoxicated version of gambling and its very bad if you ask me. Gambling addicts are everywhere but we have those set of gamblers that can be able to control themselves but be rest assure they can even secure winnings for themselves, not just some average winnings but consistent ones. With the current inflow of technicalities and technologies, lads these days have no remorse for their action and do gamble as they pleases.

[adpinbr]

Normally 18 years above has always been the right age for someone to start gambling, but due to technology has made so many under age to start gambling and even though they always have this feeling that they can easily get rich overnight. However, sometimes age does not matter, what matters is how capable you are in controling yourself from getting addicted to gambling, is not all about age alone. Because even till now most gamblers are still lacking maturity in gambling which is not suppose to be.

Gambling is not for everyone, there are mostly roughly features that follows for gamblers who are tender. They're probably expose to the intoxicated version of gambling and its very bad if you ask me. Gambling addicts are everywhere but we have those set of gamblers that can be able to control themselves but be rest assure they can even secure winnings for themselves, not just some average winnings but consistent ones. With the current inflow of technicalities and technologies, lads these days have no remorse for their action and do gamble as they pleases.

gambling is for everybody but the thing is that there so I'm starting age someone will reach before the person participate in gambling, we have to understand that when you are not up to 18 years and above you are not supposed to participate in gambling because you can be totally be influenced in gambling and you can easily become addicted, so such things have effect in in human being that is not up to age, we need to understand that gambling is all about people that have interest on it and people that is mindful who can cherish and who can also take risk, someone who is not matured or who doesn't have job is not suppose to gamble, else, gambling can lead the person into so many disadvantages.

[DaNNy001]

I think it should be at least 21, since 18 years old is still too young and reckless. I started gambling when I was 15, and it was really stressful whenever I lost, that’s based on my own experience. Now that I’m in my late 30s, I’ve gone through addiction many times, had regrets many times, but I can say I’m more in control now and gamble more responsibly.

The first requirement for gambling, aside from age, should be having a good source of income. Because if you don’t, you’ll look at gambling differently.. not as fun, but as a way to earn money. And that mindset is dangerous.

21 is a bit young to start gambling and there are lots of reasons why I said that...people are likely to make mistakes at such phases of life  because they don't have experiences with a lot of things...At 30 even though you haven't gambled before you must have definitely learnt a lot from others and this would help to to stay in check so you won't end up like the people you are trying not to be like