Online sportsbooks and prediction markets could soon face a new federal requirement: checking a user’s face before allowing them to place a bet.
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has introduced the Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act, a proposal designed to make it harder for minors to access betting accounts belonging to parents, siblings or other adults. The bill was introduced by New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer and has attracted support from lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle.
At the heart of the proposal is a simple concern. Current verification methods can confirm who owns an account, but they may not confirm who is actually holding the phone.
A minor who knows an adult’s password, has access to a saved login or uses a shared device may be able to bypass standard age restrictions. Supporters of the legislation believe facial age-estimation technology could close that gap by checking whether the person attempting to gamble appears old enough to use the platform.
The bill would cover traditional online sportsbooks as well as prediction-market operators. That distinction matters because the two sectors may apply different minimum-age rules. Sports betting platforms commonly restrict access to users aged 21 and over, while some prediction markets accept customers from the age of 18.
Rather than creating a permanent facial database, the proposed technology would be used to estimate age based on visible facial characteristics. Backers of the bill say the process could verify eligibility without storing a user’s identity or long-term biometric profile. Even so, privacy and accuracy are likely to become major points of debate as the proposal moves forward.
The legislation would introduce several important changes:
- Betting and prediction platforms would be required to perform facial age checks before accepting wagers or trades.
- The system would target minors using accounts registered to adults.
- Operators would be expected to minimise the storage of personal or biometric information.
- A federal standard could replace the uneven approach currently found across individual states.
- Gambling companies would likely face new technology, compliance and verification costs.
Supporters say the scale of underage gambling makes stronger safeguards necessary. Research cited by the bill’s sponsors found that 36% of boys between the ages of 11 and 17 had gambled during the previous year. Among boys aged 14 to 17, the reported figure increased to 40%.
The consequences were not limited to financial losses. More than one-quarter of respondents reportedly experienced problems such as stress, falling academic performance or conflict with family members.
Reports from individual states have added urgency to the issue. Iowa authorities recorded more than 80 cases linked to suspected underage betting, while sportsbooks in Tennessee identified over 400 underage accounts during 2024.
Prediction-market operator Kalshi has backed the legislation and says it already uses measures such as Face ID, two-factor authentication and selfie verification in higher-risk cases. Chief Executive Tarek Mansour has argued that protecting children should be treated as an industry-wide responsibility rather than an optional safeguard.
ParentsRISE, an organisation representing families affected by gambling harm, has also supported the bill. The group has warned that mobile betting products can be particularly difficult for young users to resist because they combine instant access, rapid transactions and repeated prompts to participate.
The proposal still faces significant questions. Facial estimation tools are not always perfectly accurate, and lawmakers may need to address whether the technology performs consistently across different ages, skin tones and facial characteristics. Critics may also challenge the creation of a federal rule for an industry largely regulated at state level.
Despite those uncertainties, the bill signals a clear shift in the political conversation. As betting becomes increasingly mobile, lawmakers are no longer focusing only on who owns an account. They are beginning to ask who is actually using it.