A bipartisan House bill would require online sportsbooks to perform facial recognition age verification before customers are permitted to place any wagers.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer introduced the Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act on July 15, with eight lawmakers from both parties signing on as original co-sponsors.
The proposal mandates a facial check either at login or immediately before a bet is placed, using physical structure and pattern analysis to estimate whether a user meets legal age requirements.
According to Gottheimer’s office, the technology would not retain any user identity or personal biometric information after the check is completed.
The requirement would also extend to prediction markets, though the bill’s most significant operational impact would fall squarely on licensed sportsbook operators.
Legal operators already collect names, addresses, birth dates and other identifying data at registration, and also use geolocation technology to confirm wagers originate within authorised states.
Those existing controls verify accounts and devices but do not necessarily confirm who is physically holding a phone or placing each individual bet during a session.
That specific gap sits at the heart of Gottheimer’s proposal, since a minor could access a platform through a parent’s saved login credentials without detection.
Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, one of the bill’s sponsors, said: “Kids under the age of 18 shouldn’t be making bets, but now it’s just a few taps away on their phones. Our common sense, bipartisan bill will put a stop to it.”
Research from Common Sense Media found that 36% of boys between 11 and 17 gambled last year, with the figure climbing to 40% among boys aged 14 to 17.
More than one-quarter of those young gamblers reported experiencing stress, family conflict or school problems directly connected to their gambling activity.
The bill would establish a national operating standard across every regulated sports betting market, requiring compatible facial-analysis software, compliance records and controls for each verification check.
It would also add a verification stage to rapid in-play wagering sessions on platforms that do not screen users at the point of login.
Congress has shown growing interest in youth betting issues in recent months, with several legislative efforts targeting minors and online gambling advertising already underway.
Sens. Katie Britt and Richard Blumenthal introduced the GAME Act in May, a measure that would prohibit websites and social media companies from directing sports betting advertisements towards minors.
The Federal Trade Commission would enforce those advertising restrictions, while repeat offenders referred to the Justice Department could face fines of up to $100,000 each time an advertisement reaches a minor.
The Senate Commerce Committee examined sports integrity just days later, hearing testimony from the American Gaming Association, Tennessee’s betting regulator and a firm that monitors suspicious wagering activity.
That scrutiny followed a bipartisan push in October 2025 urging the Justice Department to take action against illegal offshore gambling operators targeting US consumers.
A separate letter from January urged federal health officials to conduct deeper research into the effects of youth sports betting participation.
None of those legislative efforts has yet produced a comprehensive federal sportsbook regulatory framework, with state regulators continuing to oversee licensing, advertising and consumer protections.
Gottheimer’s bill takes a deliberately narrow approach, leaving state betting systems untouched while imposing one uniform federal age-verification standard across the entire industry.
