New Legislation Seeks to Use Facial Recognition to Curb Underage Gambling
Rising Concerns over Underage Gambling
Lawmakers in Washington have introduced a new bill designed to tackle the persistent problem of minors accessing gambling applications. Congressman Josh Gottheimer, supported by members from both political parties and Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour, unveiled the 2023 Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act2 on July 15. This initiative proposes implementing facial recognition checks prior to any wager or trade on prediction market platforms to ensure only eligible users participate.
Current Gaps in Preventing Underage Betting
Supporters of the legislation point out that existing safeguards against underage gambling are largely ineffective. Typically, gambling sites only confirm age during account setup, allowing anyone who has access to the device to place bets without further verification. This is particularly concerning in household settings, where teenagers might seize brief opportunities to gamble using family members’ or friends’ accounts.
Congressman Gottheimer emphasized this risk, noting that a minor can easily log into someone else’s account and place bets without any additional identity checks.
Last year, American sports betting amounted to approximately $160 billion, generating about $16 billion in revenue. Studies reveal that over one-third of boys aged 11 to 17 engaged in gambling-related activities within the past year. This rate increases among older teenagers, with many showing early signs of gambling addiction or problematic behavior.
State regulators have also observed similar trends. For example, Iowas Division of Criminal Investigation has documented numerous reports of underage betting, and Tennessee sportsbooks have closed more than 400 accounts linked to minors just in 2024. These numbers account only for cases detected within regulated gambling systems, indicating that actual figures may be higher.
Implementing Facial Recognition: Advantages and Challenges
Under the proposed law, sportsbooks and prediction market operators would be mandated to perform facial age verification each time a user logs in and before placing any bet. Instead of confirming the account holders identity, the technology would analyze the individual physically handling the device through advanced algorithms. Industry players such as Kalshi have welcomed the bill, advocating for uniform federal standards to protect young people from gambling-related harms.
Nonetheless, the technology presents certain limitations. Facial recognition, although capable of estimating age, does not guarantee full accuracy. Factors like lighting conditions, camera quality, and unique facial traits can disrupt the systems assessments. Additionally, minors have found ways to bypass these checks by using avatars or images that spoof the recognition process. Cases where users appear near the legal age threshold will pose further verification challenges.
Privacy concerns also arise with this approach. While proponents assure that biometric data will not be stored long-term, any facial recognition system requires temporary processing of images. Cybersecurity experts highlight that automation alone is insufficient; human oversight is needed to review flagged cases and prevent errors. Misjudgments by such systems could have significant and unwarranted consequences for users.
