Casino Age and ID Rules in the UK: Who Can Play and What to Bring

The Act uses two terms. A “child” is anyone under 16, and a “young person” is anyone who is 16 or 17.^{2 (source)} Both are covered by the casino rule, so in practice the line is 18. The offence falls on the person who lets them in, which is why casino staff take entry checks seriously.

The regional casino exception exists because those venues were designed to include restaurants, bars or entertainment space alongside the gaming floor. An under-18 may be in such an area only while it is not being used for gambling.^{1 (source)} In an ordinary casino, there is no equivalent exception.

The same age applies online. A gambling website licensed in Great Britain may only take bets from adults, and it must confirm a customer’s age before they can gamble. The sections below explain how that works at the door and on screen.

Gaming machines are grouped into categories by maximum stake and prize. The Gambling Commission’s guidance is direct: there is a minimum age of 18 for every player of Category A, B and C machines, and no minimum age for Category D.^{5 (source)} Category D is the lowest-stake, lowest-prize category.

Where both kinds of machine are on the same premises, operators have to keep the adult machines separate and supervised. The higher-stake slot machines inside a casino are all adult machines, so the casino entry rule applies to them in any case.

Other kinds of gambling, such as the National Lottery and society lotteries, have their own rules and are outside the scope of this page.

The “under 25” threshold gives staff a margin. Judging whether someone is 18 by appearance alone is unreliable, so the rule is to check anyone who looks younger than 25. If you are 22, expect to be asked, and do not take it personally.

Beyond the legal minimum, each venue sets its own entry conditions, such as registration, membership or a dress code. These vary by venue, so the casino’s own website is the best guide before a first visit. Our casino etiquette guide covers what happens once you are inside.

If you are turned away because you forgot your ID, there is no appeal at the door: the staff are following the casino’s policy and the law. Come back with a passport or photo driving licence and you will usually be registered in a few minutes.

The minimum details an operator must verify are your name, address and date of birth.^{6 (source)} Simply typing your date of birth into a form is not enough. Most checks happen in seconds, by matching your details against sources such as credit reference agencies and the electoral roll.^{7 (source)}

If an electronic check fails, the operator may ask you to upload a document, such as a passport, driving licence or household bill.^{7 (source)} The same checks confirm your identity and look for a self-exclusion record, for example through GAMSTOP, so they protect people who have chosen to block gambling as well as under-18s.

The Commission also says a gambling business cannot make proving your age and identity a condition of withdrawing your money, except where the law requires information at that point.^{7 (source)} If a site asks for documents only when you try to cash out, it is worth reading why. Our guide on how to check a gambling licence explains how to confirm the site is licensed in the first place.

Looking for a licensed site that runs these checks? Our UK casino comparison lists the licensed UK sites. 18+

The 2022 Act added an offence of inviting, causing or permitting anyone under 18 to play a gaming machine other than a lower-limit machine. That part came into force on 1 October 2023.^{3 (source)} It also lets the Department for Communities issue codes of practice that protect under-18s and vulnerable people.^{3 (source)}

A planned second stage of reform, which would have regulated online gambling directly, depended on a new Minister and Executive after the Assembly dissolved in March 2022.^{8 (source)} That is why the online rules on this site describe Great Britain, and why players in Northern Ireland should check how any site they use is licensed.

Licensing authorities and the Gambling Commission run test purchasing, sending young-looking volunteers into premises to check that age policies work. Businesses that fail can have conditions imposed, such as a Think 21 or Think 25 policy.^{9 (source)}

If you are a parent or carer, the most useful step is practical: blocking software and device controls stop under-18s reaching gambling sites at all, and banks offer gambling blocks on cards. For anyone worried about their own gambling or someone else’s, our safer gambling page lists free, confidential support, including the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133.