American Express Gambling Guide For Under 21 Players
Online American Express gambling is safe and legal for players under 21, as long as those players are at least 18 years old. Even better, the popular deposit methods are available at many of the biggest and most trusted online casinos, sportsbooks, and poker rooms. That said, of the three major credit card companies, keep in mind that AMEX is the most limited in terms of support.
Nevertheless, the gambling sites that accept American Express deposits are among the best in the business, so you have plenty of solid options despite this limitation. Our brief guide to AMEX gambling online explains how and where to bet with American Express safely and legally over the Internet, no matter where you live.
As long as you are above the age of 18, it's a viable option in nearly every US state as of 2024.
Best American Express (AMEX) Gambling Sites For 2024
Accepting 21 And Under Players
| Casino Site | Bonus | Rating | USA | VIsit/Review | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 100% up to $3,000 | 4.8 |  | Play Now Read Review |
| 2 |  | 200% up to $5,000 | 4.6 | | Play Now |
| 3 |  | 500% up to $3,000 | 4.5 | | Play Now |
| Sports Site | Bonus | Rating | Min Age | USA | VIsit/Review | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 50% up to $1000 | 4.8 | 18+ | | Play Now Read Review |
| 2 |  | 125% up to $3,125 | 4.7 | 18+ | | Play Now Read Review |
| 3 |  | 50% up to $1,000 | 4.7 | 21+ | | Play Now Read Review |
| 4 |  | 50% Max $250 | 4.5 | 18+ | | Play Now Read Review |
| 5 |  | 50% up to $500 | 4.5 | 21+ | | Play Now Read Review |
Under-21 Amex Gambling Explained – Understanding Depositing With American Express
Under-21 online gambling with AMEX – whether you’re playing slots, betting sports, or going all in on the digital poker felts – is a great way to fund your entire gaming portfolio. The best sites all accept American Express cards for making deposits, and you can use just about any type of AMEX card to top off your account.
The most common option is to gamble with a regular old American Express credit card, but you can also use AMEX debit cards, prepaid cards, and gift cards. As long as your card is good for making international purchases, you can use it to bet online.
As stated, most AMEX gamblers use AMEX credit cards. As such, there are a few things to consider if this is the method you intend to use to fund your online gambling account.
First, of course, is your site’s maximum deposit limit. In general, your online betting site’s single-transaction limits for credit card deposits will be the same across the board (i.e. the same regardless of what brand of card you’re using), as will the fees assessed by your site.
Additionally, though, you should be aware that in some cases, AMEX international transactions will incur additional fees on top of your normal credit card fees. This is particularly important to remember when it comes to bankroll management.
As of 2022, American Express debit cards are officially a thing. These – tied to the new American Express Rewards Checking service – allow you to deposit money directly from your savings or checking account using the trusted AMEX platform.
Of course, AMEX has always been late to the party when it comes to the debit game, so we still prefer using those debit options that are tied to our bank accounts via the Visa and Mastercard backends.
If you’re thinking about gambling online with an AMEX debit card and you don’t already have one, it’ll probably be easier to use an AMEX credit card or a different debit option entirely.
Pro-Tip: Funding online gambling with debit cards is good for new gamblers or players who struggle with responsible bankroll management. On credit, you may overextend yourself more easily, even with low transaction limits. Gambling with debit means you already have the money in hand. Still, follow this rule no matter what: Always pay your bills to gamble, never gamble to pay your bills!
You can use prepaid cards for AMEX gambling online at under-21 betting sites, as these cards are accepted worldwide. And online gambling sites that take American Express automatically also take AMEX prepaid deposits.
As with debit cards, the benefit you’ll realize when betting with prepaid cards is that bankroll management is easier for beginners as well as for players who need an extra safety net to ensure they never bet more than they can afford to lose.
The fees and transaction limits for prepaid betting options are the same as those for standard credit and debit options at all the best under-21 online betting sites we recommend.
Any American Express online gambling site is also going to accept Amex gift cards by default. These work the same way – and come with all the same fees and transaction limits – as regular AMEX betting deposits.
While other brands of gift cards – such as Visa gift cards and Mastercard gift cards – are more commonly available, you can use American Express gift cards to gamble online. The only rule is that such cards have to be good for international purchases and transfers.
Since not all gift cards can be used internationally, it’s important to make sure the ones you choose for online gaming can actually be used for online gaming!
Using gift cards at legit 18+ gambling sites is a good way to manage your bankroll, but we honestly find it somewhat inconvenient. Gift cards all require an extra step to acquire before they can be used, and that cuts into our playing time bigtime.
If you want to play casino games for real money and are under 21 years old, 18+ online casinos are the only option for those living in much of the world, including most states in the USA. This is true in 2024, and it’s likely to be true for a long time going forward.
Every AMEX casino we recommend on this page takes players at just 18 and up, and they each offer all the top online casino games and gambling classics you expect. From 18+ online slots and blackjack to 18+ online roulette, baccarat, craps, and dozens of other table games, you’ll never run out of options.
The best under 21 real money casinos also feature live-dealer games, including numerous classic and modern blackjack tables (where the whole 21-and-under bit is even more important).
American Express online gambling isn’t just for casino fans. In fact, the majority of online gamblers – in terms of sheer numbers – are online sports gamblers. Luckily, there are several highly rated under 21 sports betting sites that accept American Express, including the biggest names in the space like Bovada and BetOnline.
But regardless of which AMEX sports betting sites you choose, you’re sure to get thousands of daily odds, custom prop builder tools, and support for just about any sport or event you can imagine.
The top sites also allow you to bet on live sports, which is one of the ways in which American Express sports betting is superior to Bitcoin sports betting, Ethereum gambling, etc. With AMEX (and other supported credit/debit cards), you can get your account loaded up with funds instantly so you can bet on live lines the second they’re posted.
Not all gambling sites that take American Express actually offer real multiplayer online poker, but several do. To be clear, all major online casinos that accept AMEX offer 18+ video poker options, but video poker is a casino game. It’s not classic live poker as such.
Far fewer sites actually support live online poker, mainly due to advanced server requirements and extra resources that other RNG electronic casino games don’t need. If your chosen venue is among the comparatively few 18+ online poker sites that accept American Express, though, you’re sure to enjoy endless hours of fun across countless cash tables, Sit-N-Go events, and major multi-day online poker tournaments with six-figure pots and payouts.
The 18+ AMEX poker sites featured here are the best providers in the game, which means there’s only one kind of “flop” you’ll have to worry about.
How To Gamble Online With American Express In 2024
Regardless of the American Express gambling site you join, if you sign up with any of the providers featured here, the process is going to be largely the same.
In short, if you’ve ever used your AMEX card to make an online purchase, you’ll already know exactly what to do. Of course, to ensure that you’re an informed gambler, we’re going to spell it all the way out for you, too.
Internet-based AMEX gambling – whether it be with online casinos, online sports betting sites, or online poker rooms – all needs to be funded before you can ever place a single bet. If you want to win real money, that is.
So for all practical purposes, that means that the first step is to sign up and move some money into your betting account. Here’s how to do that:
- Join an online AMEX gambling site by following any of the links here to a reputable, secure, and established operator.
- Click or tap the “JOIN NOW” or “SIGN UP” button and enter in all requested user/account information.
- Choose the American Express deposit option from the list of supported gambling banking methods.
- Enter your card information as normal, including the amount you wish to transfer.
- Select an 18+ online gambling bonus (optional but highly recommended).
- American Express gambling deposits go through instantly and are assessed typical CC fees of 3-5% depending on the site you’ve joined and the specific card plan you have.
Note: Roughly 2-3% of the time, an AMEX betting deposit will be declined. This is an automated process and happens due to the UIGEA law. Importantly, it does not mean you’ve done anything wrong, nor does the flag disable your card. If your payment is declined, simply wait a few minutes and try again. You may also opt to use a different card or alternative payment option (i.e. Visa, Mastercard, cryptocurrency, MatchPay, Cash App, PayPal, Venmo, etc.).
The one negative aspect of using a credit card to gamble online (aside from slightly smaller deposit limits and occasional card rejections) is that credit/debit methods can only be used to deposit funds into your betting account. As of 2024, you can no longer request card chargebacks as valid payout/withdrawal options.
Of course, that’s not a huge issue because the top under-21 American Express casinos, sportsbooks, and poker sites all have multiple effective and reliable payout methods to choose from.
We generally recommend that you request your winnings in the form of cryptocurrency, but most venues also support online gambling vouchers, various P2P options, courier checks, bank wires, and retail money transfers.
Each of these requires a slightly different series of steps to complete, but they’re all fully outlined at your 18+ gambling site of choice.
Note: Most reputable sites will let you make deposits and gamble immediately when using your credit card, but payouts will often require you to fill out an extra form in accordance with modern KYC (Know Your Customer) rules and regulations. Be sure you’ll be able to provide all such required documentation before making any American Express gambling deposits.
At online gambling sites that accept American Express, the only real negative – that is, the only thing that might be a deal-breaker with this particular funding method (and the CC funding method in general) – is that you don’t get the best possible deposit bonuses when using card-based options.
If you want to maximize your deposit match welcome bonus or reload bonus at any reputable online casino, sportsbook, or poker site, you’ll need to deposit using cryptocurrency.
It’s not that credit/debit deposit bonuses are bad – they’re not! It’s just that they’re a lot smaller than the bonuses you’d get for using Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Solana, Litecoin, etc.
Of course, the terms and conditions (i.e. bonus rollover and playthrough requirements) are generally the same regardless of the funding option you choose, and they’re agreeable and fair at all the vendors we recommend.
Online American Express Gambling Transaction Speeds And Fees
We’ve already touched on the speeds and fees aspects of the credit card and debit card gambling experience, but they need to be reiterated. That’s because these constitute distinct pros and cons with CC payments that don’t exist for other options.
For example, AMEX and other card-based under-21 gambling deposits are the only methods that allow for instant transfers. Not even crypto allows you to fund your bankroll as quickly as credit/debit.
On the other hand, you’ll pay extra for that convenience. All card-based transactions – regardless of the type of card you’re using (AMEX credit, debit, prepaid, gift) – come with additional processing fees.
And, as also stated above, you can’t claim payouts using card-based funding options. So even when you make super fast deposits with American Express gambling cards, you’ll still need to consider payout speed and use a corresponding option.
(For us, that means crypto. And if you’re going to claim your cashouts using crypto, it might make more sense to go ahead and use crypto to make your deposits, too. Especially if you want the biggest possible bonuses.)
- American Express Deposit Limits: Instant, $1000-$3000, 3-5% fees
- American Express Payout Limits: N/A
Best Alternatives To Amex - Other Credit Cards And Crypto
Online casinos that accept American Express – along with AMEX online sports betting sites and online poker sites that accept AMEX – all generally have multiple additional bet funding options available to you.
Depending on your personal situation, many of these might be better than using your American Express card to gamble. Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, which is why you have so many banking options in the first place.
The best rule is to simply understand the limitations of each method and choose the one that works best for your needs.
If you’re an American Express user and don’t care much for taking a flyer on crypto (some gambler you are!), then AMEX is going to be the best option, along with a courier check or retail money transfer payout.
Otherwise, we strongly suggest considering some of the other options in the following list of typical online gambling banking methods:
- Visa
- Mastercard
- Discover
- Cashier’s Check
- Bank Wire
- Retail Money Transfer
- Vouchers/MatchPay*
- *Can be used with PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, Apple Cash, Google Pay, etc.
- In addition to the above, the 18+ crypto gambling options available to you include those listed below, though not all sites support all coins at all times.
As a rule, every major operator will always take Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin. All other options may or may not be available at your chosen online casino, sportsbook, or real-money poker site.
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Bitcoin SV (BSV)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Cardano (ADA)
- Solana (SOL)
- Stellar (XLM)
- Ripple (XRP)
- Binance Coin (BNB)
- Avalanche (AVAX)
- Polygon (MATIC)
- Chainlink (LINK)
- Dogecoin (DOGE)
- Shiba Inu (SHIB)
- ApeCoin (APE)
- USD Coin (USDC)
- Tether (USDT)
***DISCLAIMER: American Express is a third-party credit card platform that can be used with legal online 21+ gambling accounts. This website is not partnered with, promoted, or sponsored by American Express in any way.