Nine U.S. House Representatives Introduce Bill Requiring Facial Age Verification for Online Gambling and Prediction Markets
2026-07-16 22:09
Odaily Planet Daily News U.S. Representative Josh Gottheimer, along with eight co-sponsors, has introduced a bipartisan bill requiring online sports betting platforms and prediction markets to verify users' ages before they log in, place bets, or engage in transactions. The bill, titled the Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act, applies to online gambling and prediction markets.
According to Gottheimer’s office, the relevant technology will read facial structures and patterns to estimate a user's age, without storing identity or personal biometric information. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) classifies age estimation as facial analysis rather than identification.
NIST previously evaluated six age estimation algorithms, which had an average error of 3.1 years on the same visa photo database, with performance varying based on factors such as image quality, age, gender, and region of birth. The full text and bill number have not yet been made public, and the enforcing agency, penalties, technical standards, and appeal mechanisms have not yet been clarified.
According to Gottheimer’s office, the relevant technology will read facial structures and patterns to estimate a user's age, without storing identity or personal biometric information. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) classifies age estimation as facial analysis rather than identification.
NIST previously evaluated six age estimation algorithms, which had an average error of 3.1 years on the same visa photo database, with performance varying based on factors such as image quality, age, gender, and region of birth. The full text and bill number have not yet been made public, and the enforcing agency, penalties, technical standards, and appeal mechanisms have not yet been clarified.
