RELEASE: To Protect Children, Gottheimer Introduces New Bipartisan Bill Requiring Facial Recognition Age Verification for Online Sportsbooks

Resources / Press Share on RELEASE: To Protect Children, Gottheimer Introduces New Bipartisan Bill Requiring Facial Recognition Age Verification for Online Sportsbooks Requires Age Checks Before Children Can Bet or Trade Underage 36% of boys aged 11-17 Have Gambled in the Past Year Backed by ParentsRISE and Kalshi Jul 15, 2026 Press Above: Gottheimer introduces legislation to protect children. WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), joined by Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour and additional supporting Members of Congress, introduced the bipartisan “Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act,” new legislation requiring prediction markets and online sportsbooks to use facial recognition technology to verify a user’s age before they can place a bet or trade. Watch Gottheimer’s full remarks here . Last year, American bettors wagered roughly $160 billion on sports, generating about $16 billion in industry revenue — more than Americans spend on movies, books, concerts, and professional sports tickets combined. Research shows 36 percent of boys ages 11 to 17 have gambled in the past year, a figure that climbs to 40 percent for boys 14 to 17, and more than a quarter of those kids report real consequences, including stress, conflict at home, and problems at school, according to Common Sense Media. In Iowa, more than 80 reports of underage betting have been sent to the state’s Division of Criminal Investigation. In Tennessee, sportsbooks flagged more than 400 underage accounts in 2024, up from roughly 100 the year before. It’s not just betting apps, either. A lot of video games today are designed to feel like gambling and hook kids early. Loot boxes, player packs, cosmetics. They train their brains on that same dopamine loop, priming them to bet with real money. Kalshi and ParentsRISE support the bill, and Gottheimer has called on every single sportsbook and prediction market in this country to commit to this legislation — no excuses, no exceptions. The Bipartisan Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act will: Require prediction markets and online sportsbooks to use facial recognition technology to verify a user’s age, either when they log onto a platform or before they place a wager. Require technology to read facial structure and patterns to estimate a user’s age — it does not store a user’s identity or personal biometric information. “We’re asking our kids to self-police their way past a system built entirely on the honor code. 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,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “We wouldn’t accept that at a casino in Las Vegas. We shouldn’t accept it on the phone in our kid’s back pocket.” “Protecting kids should be a no brainer and is a top priority at Kalshi,” said Tarek Mansour, CEO of Kalshi. “Beyond what’s required of us, we already self-regulate and have a suite of measures in place to keep minors off our platform. But this can’t just be one company’s responsibility — it has to be an industry standard. I am grateful to Congressman Gottheimer and Congressman Van Drew for driving it forward.” “We’re grateful to see action taken to address the harms of predatory betting apps and prediction markets to children. Meta has already struck a partnership integrating Kalshi’s real-money betting markets into Threads,” said ParentsRISE, a national, survivor-parent-led movement turning grief into power and loss into action. “We are glad these members see the threat of this next wave of products engineered for compulsive use.” The bill is also originally cosponsored by Representatives Jeff Van Drew (NJ-2), Nick LaLota (NY-1), Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-8), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Darren Soto (FL-9), Tom Suozzi (NY-3), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), and Bruce Westerman (AR-4). “Prediction markets are becoming more popular, and we need to be realistic about the risks that can come with that for our children,” said Congressman Van Drew (NJ-2). “Kids should not be able to get onto these platforms and start placing bets. This bill puts another protection in place to help stop that from happening and gives parents some added peace of mind.” “Online gambling and prediction markets are expanding rapidly, but our guardrails to protect minors haven’t kept pace. Right now, the honor system is failing our kids, allowing underage users to bypass basic age restrictions with zero accountability,” said Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15). “By implementing proven facial recognition technology, we can safeguard children from the risks of underage gambling while protecting user privacy.” “As every parent knows, when you tell a kid not to do something, they almost always end up trying to do it. Kids under the age of 18 shouldn’t be making bets, but now it’s just a few taps away on their phones. Our commonsense, bipartisan bill will put a stop to it,” s