Gambling Age Restrictions - Research Paper Example

MINIMUM GAMBLING AGE REQUIREMENTS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF AGE RESTRICTIONS IN THE US AND UK I. INTRODUCTION For years now, a long debate has ensued as to the minimum legal age for gambling that need to be enforced in casinos and other gambling areas. Some are of the view that a minimum age of 21 years is appropriate since most gambling areas sell alcohol and only those of 21 years and above can be sold alcohol. This has been the view of many and is the case in the United States of America (USA), where most casinos have set the minimum age at 21 years. However, there are those that are proponents of setting the minimum legal age at 18 years as is the case in the United Kingdom (UK). A number of other countries especially in Europe have also set the minimum legal age at 18 years. Therefore, which is the most appropriate minimum age? This paper details the arguments for both sides outlining the various areas that have set different restrictions and their reasons for doing this. II. BACKGROUND Gambling is the wagering of something valuable or money as a stakes on an uncertain event with the intention of winning an additional amount of money or any other valuable good. Gambling activities have been legalized in most parts of the world and are major commercial activities with $335 billion being generated from the legal gambling market in 2009. (Champion Jr and Rose, 2012) In many jurisdictions both local and international, gambling is either banned or heavily controlled through licensing. This has resulted in gambling tourism as well as illegal gambling in other parts of the world. Through regulation and taxation of gambling activities, governments and gaming organizations have had to work closely especially in countries where legal gambling is a significant source of government revenue, like in Macau or Monaco. There are many types of gambling: casino games, non-casino games like lotteries, table games, bingo among many others. (William, 1996) It is possible for any game to be played for money and by so doing this can be considered as a form of gambling. Being a popular pastime activity worldwide for thousands of years, there is overwhelming evidence that indicates that gambling existed in ancient Egypt, China, Rome, Greece and India. With the increased popularity of the Internet, this was an avenue through which entrepreneurs could further expand the gaming industry. The first Internet gambling site was hosted in August 1995. To date, there are over 2,000 Internet gambling websites that offer a variety of wagering options. (Champion Jr and Rose, 2012) A comparative analysis of different age restrictions in both the US and the UK gives an insight as to the reasons behind the setting of these restrictions. A brief proposal will be made as to the way forward leading to the conclusion on what restrictions are appropriate and for what reasons. III. DISCUSSION Age Restrictions in the US Gambling is legally controlled in USA and its availability as well as participation has been on the rise in recent years. According to the American Gaming Association (AGA), gambling activities generated $92.27 billion in gross revenues in the year 2007, providing 354,000 jobs in commercial casinos and $5.2 billion as state and local tax revenues. Internet gambling has significantly widened extensively as a form of gambling in the US. In the year 2006, Internet gambling in the US accounted for half of the worldwide revenue generated. (Champion Jr and Rose, 2012) However, despite being a source of regressive tax to the government and the economy, critics claim that gambling also leads to increased compulsive gambling, political corruption and higher crime rates. The government through the AGA has legalized and authorized many forms of gambling with the aim of raising money without raising taxes. This incorporates everything from church basements with bingo games to poker tournaments with multi-million dollar winnings. The AGA, founded in 1994, promotes, educates and lobbies on behalf of the gaming industry through advocacy and education. It is their mandate to address regulatory, federal legislative and taxation issues that affect its members and their customers as well as employees. (Champion Jr and Rose, 2012) Members of the AGA include casino operators, suppliers of gaming products, financial and professional service companies and representatives of regional gaming associations. It is also the responsibility of the AGA to provide the media, the public and other decision makers accurate and timely gaming industry data. Although gambling is legal in the US there are fundamental restrictions that pertain to online and interstate gambling. Gambling is freely regulated or prohibited freely in each state within its borders. Nevada is the only state where there is statewide legal casino-style gambling. Licensing and zoning restrictions are also imposed by both the local government and the state. All other states in the US have restricted casino-style gambling to small geographic areas. Some states have restricted casinos to riverboats, multi-story barges permanently moored in a water body. The legal gambling age is codified into law but it has different variables. There are a number of factors that lead to the different gambling ages. The gambling age varies by state, whether or not it is for profit gambling or charitable and also the type of gambling. Online Gambling The type of gambling determines the minimum age requirement. There are some forms of gambling which are not entirely regulated by the state like online gambling. Internet/online gambling provides a complication when it comes to ascertaining the legal gambling age due to the enforcement constraints particularly affecting this form of gambling. Online gambling now comes in numerous forms due to the explosive growth experienced in over the years. Casino gaming was the earliest form of Internet gambling and it has to date come far with every form of casino game available online. Sports books have also achieved a lot of success since its emulation over the Internet. Horse wagering was also included in most sports books and online poker was soon to follow. Online bingo has become a very entertaining gambling form to most users although it is relatively less common than the other forms of gambling. (Rose and Martin, 2005) These four major forms of online gambling have been the most popular and the most readily available in recent years thus leading to the rise in the use of online gambling. Online gambling is one of the most sought after forms of gambling making the legalities surrounding this form a never ending issue. The legal gambling age in the online form of gambling be it a poker room, a casino, a sports book or a bingo hall, can vary. (Rose and Martin, 2005) However, the challenge brought about by online gambling comes due to the variation in state issued gambling ages and the minimum age requirements set by most gambling sites. Most states have set a legal age requirement of 18 years but most online gambling sites insist on a minimum age of 21 years. This disparity often leads to confusion on which age to go by for most gamblers. The regulations for online gambling have been implemented to ensure that only players who have attained the legal age can access the service. Some online gambling sites require players to send in physical identification documents or in some instances use other verification system before allowing players to play. (Rose and Martin, 2005) However, there are still pressing concerns regarding accessibility of Internet gambling due to the impossibilities of accurately verifying that users are of the legal age to gamble. Online gambling sites should take a socially responsible angle and ensure that all the players are of the legally accepted age before allowing entry into their online casinos. Most gambling sites post their age limits clearly before entering the site but strict verification measures of the actual age of all players must be taken. This could include having software that takes a player’s personal details and verifies their actual age by asking a number of questions. Due to the anonymity of players using online casinos as well as the wide accessibility of online casinos from anywhere in the world, enforcing the age limit requirement can prove to be a huge challenge for most online gambling companies. Differences in the legal ages in various online gambling sites vary according to the gambling locations they are situated. Various states in the US have different online age requirements as does most countries in the world. Some unscrupulous online casinos may allow underage players to take part in online casinos but they can only partake in free online casino games. This is because they cannot and actually most do not allow underage players to participate in games involving real money. It is unethical for such online casinos to allow underage players to participate in the so called “free games” although this might not be against the law. (Cabot, 1998) Playing free games is a precursor to playing for real money therefore trying to acquire new underage players is considered an unethical practice. There is of course the difficulty in telling potential players between 18 and 21 years of age that they should not even attempt to play free games until they reach the legal age limit. This could be a difficult measure to implement given the fact that some online casinos would accept underage players to at least participate in the free games. In the event that a player misrepresents themselves and lies about their age, if such a player goes on to win, he/she would not be able to receive their winnings. This is because real prize money cannot be given to a minor or any player considered being illegal even if they indeed won the money. Age verification is one of the most difficult measures of regulating online gambling. This is because of the anonymity that the Internet creates making it challenging to ensure that minors cannot partake in online gaming activities. The anonymous accessibility of the Internet from anywhere in the world does not make age verification any easier. (Rose and Martin, 2005) A majority of the online gambling sites only require an interested player to fill out a registration form and they rely on the player to correctly disclose their age. This makes it very easy for minors to gain access to such sites using fake identification. Little attempt is taken by these sites to verify how accurate the information provided is. The installation of advanced age verification software could be the solution for such a conundrum because this could make it much more difficult for underage players to gain access to the online gambling sites. Respected casino operators mostly follow the regulations that are laid down on restricting underage players form accessing their online sites. This is the case because such casinos would not jeopardize their licenses by allowing minors to access and gamble on their websites. Internet gambling has however not been embraced fully since its inception as is the case now. Online gambling was adamantly opposed from when 1995 when the first online casino was opened. This is because most people believed that it constituted an unacceptable gambling form. Laws were even enacted that were aimed at restricting Internet gambling and prosecuting online gambling operators. This enactments that prohibited Internet gambling have since proved to be impractical and infeasible due to the global reach of the Internet and the ease of access of gambling through Internet gambling sites. Variations by State Each state in the US has its own perspective of what the appropriate minimum gambling age should be. There are also different forms of gambling that exist in different states with no two states having exactly similar forms of gambling. Different gambling forms also have different age restrictions. Table games, slots, pull tabs and video gambling machines account mostly account for the disparities in gambling ages in all states in the US. (Champion Jr and Rose, 2012) This is because these games have their own gambling age requirements in each of the 50 states. The requirements set out in each state have to be followed since inadvertently breaking the law would lead to one losing all their money entirely or even facing legal trouble depending on the state. A. Traditional Reasons for Requiring a Minimum Age of 21 to Gamble The Federal Wire Act of 1961 failed to address other forms of gambling by only outlawing interstate wagering on sports. This made online gambling the subject of numerous court cases but it has since been more strictly regulated. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 outlawed financial transactions that involve service providers of online gambling but did not specifically outlaw online gambling. (Washburn, 2010) This led to some offshore online gambling providers closing their operations in US but others still continue to circumvent UIGEA by offering online gambling services to US customers. The UIGEA explained the reason for the setting casino gambling as its association with the availability of alcohol in most casino gambling set ups. This precipitated the minimum legal age for most casinos gambling in majority of US states to be set at 21 years and a legitimate ID is often used to show proof of this. (Washburn, 2010) The ratification of the Twenty-sixth Amendment changed the age of legal voters from 21 to 18 years. (Washburn, 2010) This also repealed the previous age requirement of 21 years for jury service as well by considering anyone above the age of 18 years an adult. However, the legal age for purchasing alcoholic beverages has long stood at 21 years. Therefore, owing to the availability of alcoholic beverages in most gambling areas the legal gambling age has consequently stood at 21 years for most states in the US. Reasons for 21 Being the Required Age 1. Minors are More Susceptible to Gambling Addiction The rising use of the Internet has increased the cases the cases of underage gambling. Gambling is a an activity that can result in addiction thus setting the legal age minimum at 21 years limits the chances of having minors addicted to gambling at an early age. Statistics show that there are over 41,700,000 websites that come up when one searches the word “gambling” on the Internet. (Champion Jr and Rose, 2012) This shows how wide spread gambling has become globally making it easily accessible to younger players at the comfort of their homes. The television has also aided in portraying gambling as a glamorous activity to younger players hence luring more and more young players to gamble eventually getting hook to the game. Therefore due to these reasons, countries like the US have set the legal gambling age in most states at 21 years to reduce the instances of minors being addicted to gambling at an early age and to ensure that it is an activity that can only be played by mature players. 2. Minors can't handle the Responsibility of Gambling The arguments against the lowering of the gambling age to 18 years advocate that those of 18 years and below are simply not mature enough despite the belief that they actually are. It is said that they are not mature enough to handle all the elements associated with gambling. Their decision making abilities are questioned since they are at a stage in life where people make irrational decisions like gambling all their college money. The fact that persons below 18 years do not have enough cash to spare for gambling also makes them capable of turning to crime in order to cover their gambling expenses. All these arguments against the lowering of the legal gambling age are fiercely disputed by the proponents of it since they believe 18 year olds have the capacity to make good decisions owing to their maturity especially in today’s world. 3. Casinos Serve Alcohol Casinos and most other gambling areas are places where alcohol is sold. Due to this fundamental reason, the minimum gambling age in the US is mostly set at 21 years in line with the legal drinking age. The use of alcohol by people aged below 21 years has been a major public health problem in the recent past. Being the most abused drug by the youth, alcohol has been responsible for over 4,700 deaths annually among underage youth. It is said that about 11% of all alcohol consumed in the US is taken by people aged between 12 to 20 years; a mind-blowing statistic in all regards. (Washburn, 2010) The rise of underage drinking has also been responsible for casinos and other gambling areas setting the minimum gambling age at 21 years. This is in order to comply with authorities and avoiding instances where those under the age of 21 years can access alcohol in their premises. IV. ANALYSIS A. Age Restrictions in the UK The Gaming and Leisure Association of Ireland (GLAI) is an association formed by casino owners. The GLAI gives proposals to the government on how to regulate and legalize casinos in Ireland. It was also the GLAI’s proposal to the government that made Value Added Tax not to be applied to any casino service. (Washburn, 2010) The minimum legal age for gambling is 18 years in the UK, as a general rule. This is regulated by the Gambling Commission through the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). (Washburn, 2010) Age restrictions are enforced by governments to discourage children from gambling while also implying that people can only become responsible once they reach a particular age. In the UK the legal gambling age of 18 years covers all forms of gambling from betting and poker to other gaming machines with the exception of the National Lottery and any other associated scratch cards. For this, one only needs to be 16 years of age and all these laws also apply to online gambling. Most European countries have also set their legal gambling age at 18 years for all forms of gambling including online gambling. However, there are isolated exceptions where online gambling is illegal and other countries like Greece have set the minimum gambling age at 23 years. (Washburn, 2010) The limits on the legal gambling age in most parts of the world are becoming an issue and an extensively debated topic due to the divergent views and the cultural differences that encompass the world. B The Gambling Act of 2005 The Gambling Act of 2005 makes provisions for interpretation of crucial concepts like the licensing of gambling areas as well as regulating gaming, lotteries and betting. Under this Act, a child is assumed to be a person under the age of 16 years and a young person is an individual not considered as a child but is under the age of 18 years. The Act stipulates that it is an offence for one to invite or permit a child or even a young person to gamble. (Washburn, 2010) Inviting or permitting a child or a young person includes sending them any document which expressly advertises gambling or also availing information on gambling that could encourage him/her to gamble. It is also an offence to allow a child or a young person to enter casino or other gambling premises. The Gambling Act outlaws the employment of a child or young person to provide gambling facilities. These gambling facilities include lottery, football pools, playing bingo or a gaming machine. The Gambling Act also limits and restricts advertising only to those operators who have been licensed within the UK or in countries within the European Union. (Washburn, 2010) By so doing, unreliable and unregulated offshore operators cannot be able to reach the UK gambling market thereby reducing the risks associated with gambling through these operators. Unregulated offshore gambling operators also target underage players due to the few or at times non-existent regulations that they have in place. The attraction of such operators among underage players is immense since they can access such gambling sites from anywhere with limited restrictions. Reasons for 18 Being the Required Age 1. At 18 years People are Mature Enough Advocates for lowering the gambling age to 18 years like in the UK, argue that if someone can be able to serve his/her country in the armed forces or be legally married, then such a person should be accorded the right to gamble if he/she chooses to do so. The reasoning for this is that, if the person is mature enough to undertake responsibilities of such magnitude then they can also be considered mature enough to handle the pressures and excitement that comes with gambling. The maturity that is portrayed by most 18 year olds in most societies in the world, show that these individuals can be accepted into casinos and other gambling areas. This therefore shows that the legal gambling age can indeed be set at 18 years without doubts as to the maturity levels of those aged 18 years. The fact that most people at this age are deemed capable of making life changing decisions without being judged as immature makes this the appropriate age to set the minimum age for gambling. In majority of countries in the world, 18 years is considered to be the legal age of an adult. By being adult, one can be assumed to be matured enough o be allow access into a casino or any other gambling area for that matter. Therefore, it beats the purpose of terming an 18 year old an adult yet he/she casino be allowed access into a casino. 2. "Minors" at age 18 Already Have Equal or Greater Responsibility Those arguing the case for setting the legal gambling age at 18 years reckon that at this age most people are accorded more responsibility. Individuals can vote, gamble in casinos from other countries and even go to war. Therefore, all these responsibilities mean that an individual can no longer be considered to be a minor. With the rising use of the Internet, most people at the age of 18 years can access almost everything online from accessing adult sites, purchase of weapons or any other conceivable thing. In this case, gambling should be allowed to anyone who has attained the age of 18 years. In a number of countries in the world, being an adult, an 18 year old is considered eligible to get a full time job and move out from his/her family home to start their own life. With this kind of responsibility on their shoulders, it is expected that they would be treated as the adults they are and be allowed entry into a casino or a gambling area as they so wish. 3. The Presence of Alcohol in Casinos Should Not Determine the Appropriate Age to Gamble The argument that the minimum gambling age should be raised due to the presence of alcohol in most gambling areas is redundant to the proponents of setting it at 18 years. This is purely because alcohol can be easily accessed from anywhere in this day and age if an underage person so wished. Alcohol is now served at concerts, sporting events, Broadway shows and many other places. Despite the requirement that one should show an identity card before purchasing alcohol, this has never posed a problem to minors seeking to purchase alcohol. Therefore, the presence of alcohol in casinos and other gambling areas should be completely unrelated to gambling age restrictions as this is not the lure for most young players. Most young players do not go to casinos to drink alcohol but rather to gamble hence it is incomprehensible to restrict them access based on the presence of alcohol in most gambling areas. B. Issues with Applying These Antiquated Notions to a Modern Society Minors Have Increasingly Easier Access to Gambling The consequence of allowing younger players into gambling areas is that there will be even younger players who will access these places. If the legal gambling age is lowered to 18 years this would mean that minors would also try to access these gambling areas and online sites. Therefore, the crucial result of lowering the legal gambling age is that relatively younger players will have access to casinos and gambling arenas thereby predisposing them to gambling vices like addiction and alcohol indulgence. C. Proposal The variations in gambling age requirements in different countries bring about confusion to players as to the gambling age restrictions in different casinos and gambling areas. This calls for uniformity in the age requirements by enacting legislations which require a standard age. By so doing, there would not be any compromise when it comes to allowing underage players into gambling areas as is the case today. This reduces the instances of illegal access of underage players into gambling areas. Internet gambling also needs to be more strictly regulated as there are too many loopholes that are currently being exploited. There has to be more protection against the social dangers that accompany online gambling like underage gambling and addiction due to the ease of access. Due to the enactment of UIGEA, more Americans have opted to gamble through unregulated offshore online gambling operators. It has long been believed that the enactment of UIGEA was purposely to ensure that Internet gambling was eventually eliminated and prohibited. (Champion Jr and Rose, 2012) This has however not been the case since people have opted for offshore operators that are running unregulated gambling. Young players who have not attained the minimum legal age for gambling have also been lured into gambling through such platforms. This is risky since the gambling is unregulated therefore the risk of being scammed is higher. UIGEA was enacted as a system of regulation aiming to curb dangers of gambling, which should be the case rather than attempting to prohibit online gambling which is an impossible endeavor. Efforts to regulate Internet gambling in the US have forced most gamblers to gamble through unreliable and unregulated foreign operators. The UIEA legislation has increased the social concerns that it was hoped it would protect against. The US should therefore follow nations like the UK which license and regulate online gambling operators efficiently hence limiting online underage gambling which is the most prevalent. This would then increase the use of gambling through better regulated online operators. A good combination of state and federal law could effectively regulate Internet gambling, which is the platform that is most accessible to underage players. This would give each state the power to control and determine the best legal status of online gambling within its borders. Consequently, each state in the US would be in a position to regulate Internet gambling in a way that is consistent with their approach or methods to traditional gambling forms. Therefore, states can apply traditional regulation methods to Internet gambling if they have proven successful while the states that have traditionally limited or outlawed gambling can also apply the same policies to Internet gambling. It is also the responsibility of the Federal Government to enact legislation that limits the ability of foreign unreliable operators to advertise their services within the US. Such legislation would be similar to that which was enacted in the UK’s Gambling Act of 2005 which restricts advertising only to UK licensed operators or those licensed within the European Union countries. (Champion Jr and Rose, 2012) The legislation can also permit gambling operators from other specified countries to advertise in the US. Licensed domestic operators and the operators from specified countries would therefore have a distinct advantage in the US market. Eventually with proper regulation, a global standard can be developed for Internet gambling which allows only licensed gambling operators to advertise to any part of the world so long as they are properly regulated. However, despite the strict regulations proposed, there can be no regulatory system that completely prevents underage players from gambling through unregulated offshore operators. The regulations can offer US gamblers reliable domestic online gambling options and at the same time limiting the ability of unregulated foreign operators the platform to advertise in the US market. The same principle can as well be implemented elsewhere in the world. V. CONCLUSION The debate on the appropriate age for gambling has gone on and on over the years and the proponents of both sides have valid arguments. However, setting the legal gambling age at either 18 or 21 years should not distract the focus on why in the first place a minimum age is being set. Underage gambling has risen in leaps and bounds over the years and online gambling still has numerous loopholes in its regulations. These regulations have to be tightened up by all parties in the gaming industry regardless of whichever minimum age is set. A harmonized minimum age might be the way to go in the future. This will limit the confusion as to which is the age limit for which casino or which gambling area. Therefore underage gambling will reduce as a result given the standardization of the legal age. The gambling organizations and unions will have to look into this so as to reduce the vices brought about by underage gambling. Works Cited Cabot, A. (1998) Federal Gambling Law. Trace Publication Champion Jr, W. T. and Rose, I. N. (2012) Gaming Law in a Nutshell, 1st Edition. West Publishing Rose, I. N. and Martin, D. O. (2005) Internet Gaming Law. Mary Ann Liebert Washburn, K. (2010) Gaming and Gambling Law: Cases and Materials (Aspen Casebook Series). Aspen Publishers William F. H. (1996) The Gaming Industry: Introduction and Perspectives. 1st Edition. Wiley Read More