The legal age to buy lottery tickets in California is 18. California Government Code Section 8880.52 prohibits selling any lottery ticket or share to a person under 18 and prohibits anyone under 18 from buying one, and a violation on either side is a misdemeanor.1California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 8880.52 The rule covers every product the California Lottery sells, from Scratchers to SuperLotto Plus to Mega Millions and Powerball, and it applies at vending machines and self-service terminals as well as at the counter.
Online, the California Lottery requires account holders for services like 2nd Chance to be 18 or older and uses age and identity verification to confirm it. If the Lottery finds an account holder doesn’t meet the age requirement or gave false information, it can suspend or terminate the account and refuse to pay any prizes.2California State Lottery. Terms of Service
Criminal Penalties for Underage Sales and Purchases
Section 8880.52 is blunt. Any person who knowingly sells a lottery ticket to someone under 18 is guilty of a misdemeanor, and any person under 18 who buys a ticket is also guilty of a misdemeanor.1California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 8880.52
Under California Penal Code Section 19, a standard misdemeanor carries up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 19 A first offense by a minor buyer rarely results in jail time in practice, but the exposure for a store or clerk is more significant. A retailer caught selling to minors also risks having their lottery sales contract revoked by the California Lottery Commission, and the clerk who rings up the sale can be charged personally.
Can You Give a Lottery Ticket to a Minor
No. The California Lottery has stated that giving lottery tickets to minors “in any way is against the law,” and the position covers all lottery products, not just Scratchers.4California State Lottery. Gift Responsibly This Holiday Season A ticket bought legally by an adult and then handed to a child is still off-limits, so the stocking-stuffer Scratcher is out.
What Happens If a Minor Holds a Winning Ticket
The law blocks payment. Government Code Section 8880.321 states that no prize may be paid from a ticket purchased by a minor.5California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 8880.321 The same section makes it a misdemeanor for anyone to knowingly claim or attempt to claim a prize using a ticket that was bought by a person under 18. An adult who fronts a child the money, has the child buy the ticket, and then walks it to a claims office is committing a crime.
Every ticket and every ticket-dispensing machine in California must carry a conspicuous notice that selling tickets to minors and paying prizes to minors are both prohibited by state law.1California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 8880.52
What Retailers Have to Do
Section 8880.52 places an affirmative duty on retailers and their employees to “establish safeguards” against sales to anyone under 18.1California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 8880.52 In practice that means checking a valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID whenever a buyer’s age is in question. California has more than 23,000 lottery retailers, and every one is bound by these rules as a condition of the sales contract.
The Commission runs compliance checks, sometimes unannounced and sometimes as undercover operations designed to test whether a clerk will complete a sale without verifying age. Consequences for a retailer found in violation range from warnings to contract revocation, depending on the severity and the pattern. The clerk on the register carries their own criminal exposure on top of anything the store faces.
How the Lottery Age Compares to Other California Gambling
The 18-year minimum for lottery tickets is one of the lowest gambling thresholds in the state, so turning 18 does not open the door to every form of legal gambling in California. General age requirements break down roughly as follows:
- Lottery: 18 to purchase tickets or claim prizes.
- Horse racing (pari-mutuel betting): 18, under California Horse Racing Board regulations.
- Bingo: 18, under California Penal Code Section 326.5.
- Card rooms: typically 21, largely enforced at the local level through city and county licensing.
- Tribal casinos: usually 21, though some allow entry at 18 depending on the tribal-state compact.
Someone who has just turned 18 can legally buy a Scratcher or a Powerball ticket, but will be turned away at most card rooms and tribal casinos.