A United States congressman has introduced a bill that would require both sportsbooks and prediction markets to implement facial recognition on their platforms to verify users’ ages before they are allowed to place bets or trades.
The “Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act,” introduced by Representative Josh Gottheimer on 15 July, would require operators to estimate a user’s age by analyzing facial features when they log into an account or make a wager. According to Gottheimer’s office, the system would not store users’ identities or biometric data.
Gottheimer cited research from US nonprofit Common Sense Media, which found that 36% of surveyed boys ages 11 to 17 reported gambling in the past year, rising to 40% among those ages 14 to 17.
