How Old Do You Have to Be to Gamble in Las Vegas?

If you want to gamble in a Las Vegas casino, it’s simple: you must be aged 21 years or older.

But it’s also bizarre: in the Land of the Free, no one is really sure what constitutes an adult; is it an 18-year-old or someone with three more years on the clock, aged 21?

Techopedia’s Paul Cullen explains all you need to know about the Las Vegas gambling age, legal drinking age, and some more obscure things you can’t do under Nevada law next time you’re in Sin City.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Suspicious Minds
2. That Was Then, This Is Now
3. Are There Any Exceptions?
4. The Land of Almost Free: What Else Is Illegal in Nevada?
5. Here, Beer & Everywhere
6. What Happens If You Get Caught Gambling Underage
7. What You Can Do Instead of Gambling in Las Vegas if You're Under 21?
8. The Bottom Line
9. FAQs
10. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Suspicious Minds
2. That Was Then, This Is Now
3. Are There Any Exceptions?
Show Full Guide
4. The Land of Almost Free: What Else Is Illegal in Nevada?
5. Here, Beer & Everywhere
6. What Happens If You Get Caught Gambling Underage
7. What You Can Do Instead of Gambling in Las Vegas if You're Under 21?
8. The Bottom Line
9. FAQs
10. References

Suspicious Minds

On April 23, 1956, Elvis Presley began a two-week run at the New Frontier Casino in Las Vegas. It was his first Sin City gig. Elvis had just turned 21, three months earlier on January 8.

The King of Rock and Roll was at the start of his career. Heartbreak Hotel was his breakout hit. He’d signed a movie deal.

He was busy touring the South, breaking hearts, upsetting mom and pop, and swinging those lean, mean, sexy hips.

By all accounts, his debut show in Las Vegas was a flop. He was tired. He was exhausted. He didn’t live up to the hype.

One reviewer patronizingly described Elvis in Vegas as: ‘a jug of corn liquor at a champagne party.’ However, at 21, at least he could drown his sorrows in the hotel bar and enjoy a little post-show action at the casino.

Had Elvis arrived before his 21st birthday, he would have been confined to his room, banned from the casino, and told to take his blue suede shoes out of the bar.

That’s a hotel experience that would definitely break your heart.

That Was Then, This Is Now

Just imagine: it’s 2025. You’re a young man. You’ve hit Sin City after a 12-month tour of duty in the US Marines.

Less than 12 hours ago, you walked into a Las Vegas chapel armed with just a birth certificate and the love of your life.

For just $102 ($105.29 with a credit card), the Clark County Marriage Licence Bureau will issue you a Marriage Licence. In less than 20 minutes, you’re married.

No questions. No due diligence. You can even get an Elvis look-a-like to do the honors. You’ve served your country. You’re legally an adult. You are now a married man.

At 20 years old, you are two years past the ‘age of majority.’ You can be sentenced to death in 27 states. You can drive. You can vote. You can pilot a commercial aircraft.

Legally, you are responsible for your decisions, actions, and life choices.

Well, almost…

If you want to celebrate your spontaneous nuptials with a glass of champagne and a spin of the roulette wheel, you’re out of luck.

Are There Any Exceptions?

Across the US, there are scores of legal variations on the casino age limit. In most states, you can play the lottery if you are 18. Las Vegas does not have a lottery.

The gambling age in Las Vegas is 21 because its casino culture is linked to drinking and alcohol consumption.

If you are of a legal gambling age in Vegas, and enjoying a little action at the tables, the complimentary drinks will be flowing.

It’s a very tightly regulated law. Land-based as well as online casinos need licenses to operate, and serving drinks to minors gets the owner a strike. Too many of those, and you’re out.

The Land of Almost Free: What Else Is Illegal in Nevada?

Ironically, in the Land of the Free, there are a lot of itty-bitty laws that erode prized constitutional freedoms.

Let’s say – for example – you want to ride a camel into town, hop off and hula hoop your way along Fremont Street, and finish the day lying down on the public sidewalk in Reno.

All three of these activities are illegal under Nevada state law.

In Las Vegas, you need to be 21 years old to drink and gamble.

The bumper stickers might shout ‘Freedom’ and ‘Honk if You Love Jesus,’ but on the Strip, you’re only truly free when you’re three years older than the legally recognized age of adulthood in the US.

‘Meh!’ you say.

Who really cares if a 20-year-old adult is having a drink or playing a few hands at the blackjack table? The answer: lots of people.

Alcohol regulation is a serious business in the US, and those hard-fought, hard-won casino licenses are priceless.

Drinking laws in the US, up until 1984, were relatively fluid (sorry!), varying from state to state. Post-prohibition, in 1933, the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment.

Once again, 21 is the magic number.

This time, it trumped a ‘no drink’ amendment with a ‘go drink’ amendment, with most states electing a minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) of 21.

Here, Beer & Everywhere

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Vietnam War, the youth movement, and the lowering of the voting age to 18 prompted many states to match the drinking age.

If you could die for your country at 18, at least have a beer before you go.

The problem was pressure groups, including the Mothers Against Drunk Driving, managed to persuade legislators to link federal highway funding to a minimum drinking age.

If you’re encouraging the youth to drink and drive, it comes at a cost: potholes.

Basically, if you wanted good-quality roads, you had to have a minimum drinking age of 21. Ronald Reagan signed the National Minimum Drinking Age act into law in 1984.

The only US states not complying with the 21 minimum are Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Either the roads are pothole-free, or they just don’t care.

What Happens If You Get Caught Gambling Underage

Do you want to take it down at the tables? Smash the slots? Channel your inner James Bond at Baccarat? That’s fine… but we’re going to need to see some ID, please.

As well as putting your Las Vegas casino license on the line, when it comes to alcohol sales, there are potentially serious consequences for both the buyer and the vendor.

If you sell alcohol to someone under 21, you could end up in jail for six months – and with a $1,000 fine.

So, Sin City… we wait until we cross the line and hit the blackjack of life.

At 21, you have reached the legal gambling age in Vegas, Sin City is all yours, for better or for worse, you can also adopt a child, carry a concealed weapon, and legally rent a car. All at the same time – if you want.

According to Trip Advisor, Las Vegas has more than 4,000 restaurants, around 200 cocktail bars, and no one seems to know exactly how many regular bars and clubs.

Suffice to say: there are lots and lots and lots and lots.

There are 60 major casinos, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, and you can bet drinks will be available, usually free, if you’re making plenty of trips to the cashier’s cage.

Sin City is the temple of excess, the home of hope, and a bastion to all things bet-shaped. It will wait for you. It’s worth the wait.

What You Can Do Instead of Gambling in Las Vegas if You’re Under 21?

Once upon a time, all Sin City had to offer was showgirls and casinos. Modern Las Vegas is very much a family-friendly vacation destination.

You could stay here for a month, try something different every day, and never even gamble a cent.

There are 1,000s of non-gambling things to do, including:

✅ The STRAT SkyPod & Thrill Rides
✅ High Roller Observation Wheel
✅ Fly LINQ Zipline
✅ AREA15
✅ Adventuredome at Circus Circus
✅ Cirque du Soleil
✅ Magic Shows
✅ Blue Man Group
✅ The Neon Museum
✅ The Pinball Hall of Fame
✅ Virtual Reality Adventures
✅ Red Rock Canyon
✅ Hoover Dam
✅ Lake Mead
✅ The Sugar Factory
✅ Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer
✅ Eataly Las Vegas
✅ The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace
✅ The LINQ Promenade
✅ Container Park
✅ Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign
✅ The Bellagio Fountains
✅ The Venetian Canals
✅ The Mob Museum
✅ Madame Tussauds Las Vegas
✅ Shark Reef Aquarium

The Bottom Line

Monte Carlo, London, Paris, and Venice all have high-end casinos that will gladly take your money and comp you with an alcoholic drink.

You’ll even get to avoid US roulette, with its unnecessary extra 00. Who needs that? Why?

Save your cents and pennies and hit Las Vegas when you are at the legal gambling age of 21. Let’s face it: what a way to celebrate your birthday.

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