How old do you have to be to bet?

When looking at the best sports betting sites in the world, one of the first things you notice will be the minimum age you need to be to open an account and play there. This isn’t determined by the betting site itself, but rather by the country in which the player is in. 

The latter varies from country to country and in some cases, a distinction is also made between the minimum age for betting at an online sportsbook, a land casino and other types of betting. 

Why is there a minimum age requirement for gambling? 

The reasoning is simple: minors usually don’t have their own money, aren’t mature enough to make important financial decisions like how much to bet, how and when and could easily become addicted to gambling from a young age. That could lead to incurring debts and a bad lifelong habit that could have disastrous effects for the remainder of their lives. 

Kenya and Nigeria

Let’s kick things off in Africa with Nigeria and Kenya. 

The 1966 Kenyan Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act determined that the legal gambling age in Kenya is 18 for all types of betting. 

Over in Nigeria, the legal gambling age is 18 for sports betting and lotteries, whether online or offline, but increases to 20 when it comes to entering a land-based casino. 

• Kenya - 18 for all types of betting. 
• Nigeria -18 for all types of betting, except land casinos, which is 21. 

India

Gambling laws in India are far too complex to go into here as they’re filled with grey areas and vary from one state to the next. 

But this much is crystal clear: whether you’re going to a land (or river) casino in one of three States that allow casinos to be open for business, or are gambling on sports online or offline, the minimum age is always 21. 

• India - 21 for all forms of gambling. 

Canada

At national level, the minimum age to gamble in Canada is 19 irrespective of the form of gambling, including sports betting. However, the different provinces have the right to tweak things slightly and Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec have done just that, lowering it by one year to 18. Then there’s the case of Ontario, where you can buy a scratch card at just 18 but need to be 19 to be able to enter a casino. 

• Canada - 18/19 depending on the province. 

UK

Thankfully, things are far more straightforward over in the UK. You need to be 18 years old to take part in any and all forms of gambling, including online sports betting and casino games, land casinos, pub fruit machines and playing the National Lottery. It used to be 16 for the latter, but that was increased to 18 in 2021.

• UK - 18 for all forms of gambling.