Could this be good news for the poker economy and in particular the World Series of Poker?

A new bill has been sponsored by the Nevada Assembly which would lower the legal gambling age from 21 to 18.

Jim Wheeler has introduced Assembly Bill 86 saying “if you’re old enough to serve our country, in foreign lands … you’re old enough to come to Las Vegas or Reno or Lake Tahoe and have a good time.”

There are no plans to also reduce the state drinking age to 18.

Experts are suggesting that such a move would not have a huge impact on the Las Vegas economy, however one particular gambling economy would likely be effected, the poker economy.

Could the WSOP get a boost?

Annette Obrestad at the WSOPE

With almost every other poker playing country having a legal gambling age of 18, it is common to see 18-21 year olds who have learned the game online playing in major events like the European Poker Tour.

Indeed, there is a long history of European players crushing the game on this side of the Atlantic who were unable to play at the World Series of Poker because they were underage. Players like Fedor Holz, Ole Schemion and Dzmitry Urbanovich.

Perhaps the most obvious example of all was Annette Obrestad, who was one of the early icons of online poker and who famously won the first ever World Series of Poker Europe Main Event aged 19 in London, yet who was not able to play the US version of the same series for another two years.

Don't get your hopes up yet at the thought of Las Vegas falling in line with the rest of the global poker industry, as previous attempts to reduce the legal gambling age have been unsuccessful.

Would this have a big impact on the poker industry? Let us know in the comments: