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New Jersey sports bettors could eventually face facial recognition checks when accessing an online sports wagering sites under a bipartisan bill introduced by Rep. Josh Gottheimer.
The New Jersey Democrat unveiled the Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act, or H.R. 9706, alongside Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour on July 15. New Jersey Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew is among the bill’s nine co-sponsors.
How the proposed age checks would work
H.R. 9706 would require New Jersey online sportsbooks and prediction markets to verify that users are older than 18 through commercially available facial recognition technology before allowing them to access a platform, place a wager or submit an order.
Although the bill calls it facial recognition, Gottheimer’s office described technology that examines facial features to estimate age. Operators could perform the check when a user logs in or immediately before a wager or order is submitted.
Players must already be at least 21 to use regulated sports wagering sites, which verify information such as a customer’s name, date of birth, address and Social Security number during registration. New Jersey online casinos use similar identity checks.
The federal proposal would not lower that requirement. However, the bill only specifies facial verification for users older than 18. It does not explain whether operators would have to adjust the technology to reflect higher state age limits.
Operators could only collect, process or transfer biometric data reasonably necessary for age verification and must delete what they deem unnecessary. However, the bill sets no retention period for information they keep.
The age-verification provision does not specify how frequently checks must occur, minimum accuracy standards, a compliance period or an alternative for failed checks. The Federal Trade Commission would enforce the requirement and could introduce additional rules.
Lawmakers target access through adult accounts
Those registration checks do not necessarily establish who is holding the device during a later wagering session. Gottheimer argues that children can therefore wager through accounts belonging to parents, siblings or friends. He said when announcing the bill:
“We wouldn’t accept that at a casino in Las Vegas. We shouldn’t accept it on the phone in our kid’s back pocket.”
Gottheimer’s office cited Common Sense Media research finding that 36% of boys between 11 and 17 participated in at least one gambling activity during the previous year. However, the study covered informal betting and gambling-like video game features, not only online sportsbooks.
Gottheimer’s office also cited more than 400 underage accounts flagged by Tennessee sports wagering sites in 2024, up from roughly 100 the previous year.
Kalshi backs an industry-wide standard
Mansour said Kalshi already has measures intended to prevent minors from using its platform. However, he argued that individual companies should not be left to set their own standards. He added:
“This can’t just be one company’s responsibility. It has to be an industry standard.”
Gottheimer has called on every operator and prediction market in the country to support the legislation. His announcement did not identify anyone that had done so.
ParentsRISE, a national survivor-parent-led advocacy group, also backed the bill. It cited Meta’s integration of Kalshi’s real-money markets into Threads and described the expansion as part of a new wave of products engineered for compulsive use.
What might change for NJ platforms and bettors
Operators that do not already use qualifying technology would likely need to add it, update their biometric-data controls and develop procedures for inconclusive results.
Bettors may have to grant camera access and complete a facial scan after registration. Legitimate customers could face delays if the technology produces an incorrect or inconclusive estimate.
Bill reaches beyond age verification
H.R. 9706 also includes rules governing promotional materials, anti-money-laundering controls and customer funds for entities offering event contracts to retail customers. It would revise the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s authority to bar event contracts involving subjects such as unlawful activity, terrorism, war, violence or gaming when it finds them contrary to the public interest.
Those provisions are directed at event-contract markets rather than state-regulated NJ operators.
The bill has been referred to the House Agriculture and Energy and Commerce committees. It must clear both chambers of Congress and receive presidential approval before taking effect.
