Legal casino gambling age in Guam
Guam, an unincorporated territory of the United States in the western Pacific, prohibits gambling as a general rule. Chapter 64 of Title 9 of the Guam Code Annotated (GCA), the territory’s criminal code, makes it a misdemeanour to make or accept a wager on the result of any game or contest, and then lists a short set of exceptions: social gambling in private homes, charitable bingo and raffles run by non-profit organisations under a permit, licensed amusement devices, and limited games of chance at the Guam Island Fair and Liberation Day Carnival. There are no casinos. Voters have rejected proposals to legalise casinos, slot machines or commercial bingo at several referendums since 1977. No Guam law authorises any form of online gambling, and United States federal statutes on interstate wagering and internet gambling payments apply to the territory.
Key points
- Gambling is a misdemeanour under 9 GCA § 64.10 unless it falls within an exception in Article 2 of the same chapter; a misdemeanour carries up to one year’s imprisonment and a fine of up to $1,000.
- There is no gaming regulator. The Department of Revenue and Taxation (DRT) issues permits for charitable bingo and raffles and licenses amusement devices.
- Casino, slot machine and commercial bingo proposals were rejected by voters in 1977, 1996, 2004, 2006, January and November 2008, and 2012.
- In 2021 the Supreme Court of Guam held that DRT’s gaming regulations, and the licences for about 1,200 electronic gaming devices issued under them, were void.
- Online casino gaming is not authorised. The federal Wire Act and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) both define “State” to include US territories.
- A citizen initiative to allow limited electronic gaming at bingo facilities was before the Guam Election Commission in 2026; it expressly excludes internet gaming.
Last reviewed: 13 October 2026.
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Historical development
Guam’s gambling law derives from the older Government Code of Guam, to which the source notes of the bingo and cockfighting provisions in 9 GCA Chapter 64 refer (Guam Code Annotated, Title 9, Chapter 64). The pattern has long been a broad criminal prohibition with narrow exceptions.
Proposals to go further have repeatedly failed at the ballot box. On 16 April 1977 voters, polling alongside the election for a constitutional convention, endorsed a ban on casinos and coin-operated gambling machines; the Direct Democracy database records the outcome but no vote figures (Direct Democracy database, Guam, 16 April 1977). On 5 November 1996 a citizens’ initiative to license casinos under a regulatory commission was rejected by 27,801 votes to 9,509 (Direct Democracy database, Guam, 5 November 1996).
On 2 November 2004 a citizens’ initiative known as Proposal A, which would have allowed licensed casino gambling in approved hotels under a Guam Casino Gaming Control Commission, was rejected by 21,223 votes to 13,311 (Direct Democracy database, Guam, 2 November 2004). Preliminary Guam Election Commission figures reported by Stars and Stripes were of the same order, about 21,200 against and 13,300 in favour. Supporters then argued in court that the vote was invalid because the commission had failed to mail the 80-page initiative text to each voter (Stars and Stripes, 13 November 2004).
Attention then turned to slot machines at the island’s greyhound racetrack. On 7 November 2006 Proposal B, a citizens’ initiative to allow slot machines at an established pari-mutuel racing facility with a 10% tax on gross slot income, was rejected by 20,260 votes to 16,705 (Direct Democracy database, Guam, 7 November 2006). A second vote on slot machines at the greyhound track, originally set for 15 December 2007 and moved by a court on 16 November 2007, was held on 5 January 2008; it was rejected by 13,259 votes to 7,774 (Direct Democracy database, Guam, 5 January 2008). On 4 November 2008 voters also rejected the Responsible Gaming Act, an initiative to legalise casino gambling at the greyhound track site, by 19,438 votes to 13,735 (Direct Democracy database, Guam, 4 November 2008). The track’s owner then halted dog racing (Animal People, January 2009), and Public Law 30-162 of 16 July 2010 repealed the former 9 GCA § 64.50, which had exempted wagers on lotteries, jai alai and dog racing authorised under the Government Code (9 GCA Chapter 64, source notes). On 6 November 2012 an initiative to allow commercial bingo was rejected by 19,850 votes to 10,920 (Direct Democracy database, Guam, 6 November 2012). In 2019 Vice Speaker Telena Nelson summarised this record by saying that voters had rejected gambling five times since 2000 (Pacific Island Times, 29 January 2019).
Alongside the referendums, an unresolved dispute over electronic gaming machines ran from the late 2000s. Hundreds of machines operated under DRT licences that successive Attorneys General considered unlawful. In 2013 the Legislature unanimously passed a “sunset” measure intended to end gambling once proceeds had retired debts owed by Guam Memorial Hospital, then estimated at about US$18.8 million (Inside Asian Gaming, 27 June 2013). The same year Vice Speaker Benjamin Cruz introduced a bill against so-called internet or casino cafés, which combined sweepstakes with casino-style games such as slots, keno and digital horse racing (Inside Asian Gaming, 27 September 2013). The machine dispute was finally settled by the Supreme Court of Guam in 2021, as described below.
Legal framework
The general prohibition: 9 GCA Chapter 64
The core rule is in 9 GCA § 64.10. A person commits a misdemeanour when he “makes or accepts a wager involving money or anything of monetary value upon the result of any game or contest”, when he holds money he knows has been wagered unlawfully, or when he sets up or promotes a lottery or sells or buys a lottery ticket. A lottery is defined as a plan by which prizes are distributed by chance among people who have paid or promised to pay something of value (9 GCA Chapter 64). Under Guam’s general sentencing provisions a misdemeanour carries a maximum term of one year and a maximum fine of $1,000 (9 GCA Chapter 80).
Article 1 of the chapter adds specific offences concerning machines:
- Electronic sweepstakes machines (§§ 64.15–64.17): operating, or possessing with intent to operate, an electronic sweepstakes device with an “entertaining display” is a felony punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, each violation being a separate offence. Devices are subject to seizure and forfeiture, and the Director of Revenue and Taxation may impose an administrative penalty of up to $250,000 after notice and a hearing. These sections were added by Public Law 32-130 of 13 February 2014, following the casino café bill of 2013.
- Importation (§ 64.20): importing or manufacturing gambling devices is a felony punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $25,000 per device, or both. A gambling device includes any coin-operated machine that may return winnings other than free games.
- Possession (§ 64.22): possessing a gambling device, whether operable or not, is a misdemeanour punishable by up to one year’s imprisonment and a fine of up to $1,000 per device.
- Location rules (§ 64.21): placing a poker machine or video lottery terminal on or near government buildings or school premises is a misdemeanour.
- Slot machines (§ 64.23): “No section of this Act shall be construed to allow the operation of slot machines in the Territory of Guam” (added by Public Law 19-004 in 1987).
Authorised activities
Article 2 lists what is permitted:
- Social gambling (§ 64.30): gambling is lawful only if it takes place on private premises, all wagerers are present, no charge is made to enter or wager, and nothing is sold or rented on the premises.
- Charitable bingo and raffles (§ 64.70): non-profit churches, fraternal societies, educational and charitable bodies and recreational clubs that have been active in Guam for at least two years may obtain a one-year permit from the Director of Revenue and Taxation. Net proceeds may be used only for the educational, charitable, religious, fraternal or civic purposes stated in the application.
- Amusement devices (§ 64.65): the general offence does not apply to wagers on licensed amusement devices, except on government or school premises or by people under 18.
- Fair and carnival games (§§ 64.62–64.62.2): games of chance at the Guam Island Fair and Liberation Day Carnival under rules drafted by the Mayors’ Council with the Attorney General and DRT, subject to legislative review, with a 60-day limit and a post-event audit by the Office of Public Accountability.
- Cockfighting (§ 64.40): wagering at a licensed cockpit by people aged 18 or over remains in the Code, but is overtaken by federal law (see below).
The carnival exception has been contested. Public Law 34-015 of 8 June 2017 repealed it, lifting an exemption that had allowed casino-style gambling at the Liberation Day carnival; Public Law 35-004 of 3 April 2019 re-enacted a narrower version with mandatory conditions and reporting (9 GCA Chapter 64, source notes; Pacific Island Times, 16 June 2017). According to the Supreme Court of Guam, a separate provision added by Public Law 32-060, 11 GCA § 5205, refers to bingo, lottery and cockfighting activities and “all other limited gaming activities as authorized pursuant to statute” (Camacho v. Shimizu, 2021 Guam 22).
Federal law
As a US territory Guam is also subject to federal gambling law. The Wire Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1084, makes it an offence for a person in the business of betting or wagering knowingly to use a wire communication facility to transmit bets or wagering information across state or foreign lines, and defines “State” to include “a commonwealth, territory or possession of the United States” (18 U.S.C. § 1084). UIGEA, 31 U.S.C. §§ 5361–5367, uses the same broad definition (31 U.S.C. § 5362). For the purposes of the federal Gambling Devices Act, Guam is expressly treated as a “State” (15 U.S.C. § 1171), which means that whether machines may be shipped there depends on local law, and local law bans their importation. Since 2019, a federal law extending the ban on animal fighting to the territories has also ended lawful cockfighting; the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld that ban against a challenge from Guam in December 2021 (Associated Press via NBC Los Angeles, 22 December 2021).
Regulator and licensing model
Guam follows a prohibition model: gambling is banned unless a statute makes an exception. There is no gaming commission or other dedicated regulator, and no licence exists for casinos, sports betting or online gambling. The functions that do exist are spread across general government bodies:
- the Department of Revenue and Taxation issues bingo and raffle permits under 9 GCA § 64.70 and licenses amusement devices;
- the Mayors’ Council of Guam, with the Attorney General and DRT, drafts the rules for fair and carnival games, which the Legislature may approve, amend or reject;
- the Office of the Attorney General prosecutes gambling offences and has litigated against unlawful machine licensing; and
- the Guam Election Commission administers citizen initiatives, the route by which most proposals for wider gambling have been put to voters.
The limits of DRT’s role were defined by litigation over electronic gaming machines. Public Law 26-052 allowed DRT to make rules for gaming activities that were authorised as of 1 August 2001. In Camacho v. Shimizu, 2021 Guam 22, the Supreme Court of Guam held that this delegation was constitutional, but that DRT’s gaming regulations were void because the department had not followed the Administrative Adjudication Law: it had not published notice of a public hearing, held one, or prepared an economic impact statement. Later statutes had not ratified the rules. The Court therefore affirmed the trial court’s judgment that “DRT’s gaming regulations, and licenses issued under those regulations, are void” (Supreme Court of Guam, 2021 Guam 22). The Superior Court had ruled in March 2020, and after the appeal DRT did not renew the licences for about 1,200 machines; the Governor’s office stated simply that the machines were illegal (Guam Daily Post, December 2021; Guam Daily Post, Supreme Court ruling report). The Daily Post reported that some other devices, such as video horse racing machines, were then still regarded as legal.
In 2020, after DRT announced that it would stop licensing electronic gaming machines, Bill 226 sponsored by Vice Speaker Telena Nelson proposed extending the ban to horse racing machines, carnival-style betting games and the import of pachinko and similar devices (Guam Daily Post, July 2020). This guide could not confirm whether that bill was enacted.
Online gambling: what is permitted and how it is enforced
No Guam statute authorises online casino games, online poker, online sports betting or an online lottery, and no body is empowered to license them. Section 64.10 is framed in terms of making or accepting a wager on “any game or contest” and does not depend on where or how the bet is placed, while the social gambling exception in § 64.30 requires all wagerers to be physically present on private premises (9 GCA Chapter 64). Remote gambling therefore falls outside every local exception.
Federal law reinforces the position. Because UIGEA’s intrastate exception applies only to bets “expressly authorized” by the law of the place where they are made, and Guam authorises none, wagers placed online from Guam are likely to be “unlawful Internet gambling” for UIGEA purposes (31 U.S.C. § 5362). The Wire Act, by contrast, applies only to people engaged in the business of betting (18 U.S.C. § 1084).
This guide found no Guam-specific mechanism for blocking gambling websites, no list of prohibited sites, and no local statute dealing specifically with advertising of online gambling.
Position of players
Guam’s gambling offence is unusual in that it expressly covers both sides of a bet. Under § 64.10 a person who “makes” a wager commits the same misdemeanour as one who accepts it, and a person who buys an unauthorised lottery ticket is also liable (9 GCA Chapter 64). A resident who bets money online therefore falls within no exception. The maximum penalty for a misdemeanour is one year’s imprisonment and a $1,000 fine (9 GCA Chapter 80).
This guide found no reported prosecution of an individual in Guam for gambling online, and no public statement by the Attorney General on the point.
Taxation
Operators
Because casino and online gambling are not permitted, Guam has no gambling tax regime of the kind found in licensing jurisdictions. Several proposals for wider gambling have attached a tax to it: a 2013 bill to tax gaming machines and create a Guam Gaming Commission failed in the Legislature, and the 2012 commercial bingo initiative proposed a 20% tax on gross bingo income before voters rejected it (Inside Asian Gaming, 27 June 2013; Direct Democracy database). The 2026 electronic gaming initiative proposes a 15% tax on net gaming revenue (see below).
Players
Guam’s income tax is a “mirror” of the federal system. Under the Organic Act, the income-tax laws in force in the United States also apply in Guam as the “Guam Territorial income tax”, payable to the Government of Guam, with “Guam” substituted for “United States” (48 U.S.C. § 1421i). Under the Internal Revenue Code, gambling winnings are fully taxable, and losses are deductible only by taxpayers who itemise and only up to the amount of winnings reported (IRS Topic 419).
Consumer protection and responsible gambling
The statutory safeguards are attached to the permitted activities:
- people under 18 may not use licensed amusement devices for wagering, and the cockfighting exception required wagerers to be at least 18;
- poker machines and video lottery terminals may not be placed near government buildings or schools, and amusement-device wagering is excluded on those premises;
- bingo and raffle permit holders must keep records and file a report after their permit expires, and a permit must be revoked for violations; and
- carnival game rules must address security, including the protection of minors, and each event is audited by the Office of Public Accountability.
Guam has no national self-exclusion register and no dedicated problem gambling helpline was identified. The Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center offers mental health and substance use services and can be reached on (671) 647-5440. Crisis support is available 24 hours a day on 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which is listed for Guam alongside the Sanctuary Crisis Line on (671) 475-7100, aimed mainly at young people and parents (Find A Helpline, Guam). General guidance is available in our responsible gambling guide.
Recent and upcoming developments
- Lottery bill (2023). In July 2023 Senator Dwayne San Nicolas introduced Bill 145-37 to create a Guam Lottery Commission as a public corporation overseeing in-person and online lotteries, with revenue paid into the Limited Gaming Fund for school and village recreational facilities. The bill would have barred casino-style games and set a minimum age of 21 (Guam Daily Post, 5 July 2023). This guide found no evidence that it was enacted.
- Electronic gaming initiative (2026). At the beginning of April 2026 a resident submitted a citizen initiative to the Guam Election Commission that would “authorize limited electronic gaming at qualified bingo facilities”. It would levy a 15% tax on net gaming revenue, with 5% of that tax earmarked for problem gambling prevention and treatment, and it would expressly not authorise casinos, poker rooms, sportsbooks or internet and mobile gaming (Guam Daily Post, April 2026). The Commission’s agenda for 24 June 2026, under the title “Limited Electronic Gaming Only at Qualified Bingo Facilities”, included whether the measure is related to the 2012 bingo initiative, the fiscal impact statement, the official summary and authorising petition circulation (Guam Election Commission, meeting notice). Its later status could not be verified; it would need to clear the petition stage and win a public vote before taking effect.
- Online gambling. No 2024–2026 bill to license online gambling was identified.
Casino listings for players in Guam
The listings below are generated automatically from our casino database. They do not show that an operator is licensed or authorised in Guam, which has no licensing system for online gambling. The listings must not be read as an indication that playing is lawful. See 9 GCA Chapter 64 for the text of the law.
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Related country guides
- Northern Mariana Islands gambling guide
- Palau gambling guide
- Japan gambling guide
- Papua New Guinea gambling guide
- Philippines gambling guide
Sources and further reading
- Government of Guam, Guam Code Annotated (via Justia), Title 9, Chapter 64: Gambling (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Government of Guam, Guam Code Annotated (via Justia), Title 9, Chapter 80: Sentencing (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Supreme Court of Guam, Camacho v. Shimizu, 2021 Guam 22 (2021).
- Guam Daily Post, Guam Supreme Court: Gaming regulations, licenses void; 1,200 machines were licensed (2021).
- Guam Daily Post, Adelup: Gaming machine licenses not renewed (2021).
- Guam Daily Post, Expanded gambling ban legislation to be heard today (2020).
- Guam Daily Post, San Nicolas bill proposes local lottery (2023).
- Guam Daily Post, Limited electronic gaming initiative submitted (2026).
- Guam Election Commission, Second Notice: Guam Election Commission Regular Meeting, 24 June 2026 (2026).
- Stars and Stripes, Guam group seeks new vote on casino gambling issue (13 November 2004).
- Pacific Island Times, No dice for casino (2017).
- Pacific Island Times, Guam Vice Speaker Nelson calls foul on gambling bill (29 January 2019).
- Inside Asian Gaming, Guam’s Senate Votes To Phase Out Gambling (27 June 2013).
- Inside Asian Gaming, Island Crackdown on Cyber Cafes (27 September 2013).
- Direct Democracy database (sudd.ch), Guam: votes 1946–2014 (event pages for 16 April 1977, 5 November 1996, 2 November 2004, 7 November 2006, 5 January 2008, 4 November 2008 and 6 November 2012; accessed 13 October 2026).
- Animal People, Rescuing greyhounds from the most remote track in the world (January 2009).
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, 18 U.S.C. § 1084 (Wire Act) (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, 31 U.S.C. § 5362 (UIGEA definitions) (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, 15 U.S.C. § 1171 (Gambling Devices Act definitions) (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, 48 U.S.C. § 1421i (Guam Territorial income tax) (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Internal Revenue Service, Topic no. 419, Gambling income and losses (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Associated Press via NBC Los Angeles, Court upholds US cockfighting ban, rejects challenge in Guam (22 December 2021).
- Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center, Official website (accessed 13 October 2026).
- Find A Helpline, Gambling helplines in Guam (accessed 13 October 2026).
