NBA, PGA and NCAA push for higher age minimum for sports prediction markets

Monday, May 4, 2026 2:26 PM
Photo: Shutterstock
  • Suzy Khimm, NBC News

Major sports organizations — the NBA, PGA Tour and NCAA — are pushing the federal government to require prediction markets to raise their minimum age for sports betting from 18 to 21 years old.

The associations have urged federal regulators in recent weeks to tighten the industry’s age restrictions given the potential risks to younger bettors, according to letters they submitted to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is preparing to write the first federal rules for the prediction market industry.

Online sportsbooks, like FanDuel or DraftKings, are regulated by states, most of which require users to be 21 years old to gamble.