Josh Gottheimer introduced bipartisan legislation on 15 July that would require online sportsbooks and prediction markets to use facial recognition to verify users’ ages before allowing bets or trades.
The proposal is called the Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act. It would estimate a user’s age by analysing facial structure and patterns when people log in or before they place a wager.
Gottheimer’s office said the technology would not store a user’s identity or personal biometric information. The congressman framed the measure as a way to stop minors from using the accounts of parents, siblings or friends to get around age limits.
“We’re asking our kids to self-police their way past a system built entirely on the honor code,” he said in the release. “A kid can log into a parent’s, an older sibling’s, or a friend’s account and place a bet with no verification at all. Nobody checks. That’s it. That’s the whole system.”
He also pointed to the scale of the market behind the bill. American bettors wagered about $160 billion on sports last year, generating roughly $16 billion in industry revenue, according to his office.
The congressman cited Common Sense Media research finding that 36% of boys ages 11 to 17 gambled in the past year, rising to 40% among boys ages 14 to 17. More than a quarter of those youths reported negative effects, including stress, family conflict and problems at school.
Gottheimer also pointed to state reports of underage betting activity, including more than 80 reports in Iowa and more than 400 underage sportsbook accounts flagged in Tennessee during 2024.
The bill has backing from Kalshi and ParentsRISE. Kalshi chief executive Tarek Mansour called protecting children a top priority and said the issue should become an industry standard.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew, the New Jersey Republican who co-sponsored the measure, said prediction markets are becoming more popular and that children should not be able to get onto those platforms and start placing bets. Other original co-sponsors were Nick LaLota, Kristen McDonald Rivet, Jimmy Panetta, Darren Soto, Tom Suozzi, Ritchie Torres and Bruce Westerman, with lawmakers from New York, Michigan, California, Florida and Arkansas also on the bill.
The release said the proposal builds on Gottheimer’s broader online-safety record, including the Parents Decide Act, which he introduced with Elise Stefanik and which would require device makers to verify age when a phone or tablet is set up. It also said he has cosponsored Sammy’s Law, the Protecting Young Minds Online Act, the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act and the Kids Online Safety Act, and that he is a member of the Children’s Safety Caucus.
