New legislation would require facial, age recognition for sportsbooks and prediction markets

US Representative Josh Gottheimer introduced the Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act, which would require prediction market and sports betting operators to estimate a user’s age by analyzing facial features when they log into an account or make a wager.

While the facial recognition system would not store users’ identities or biometric data, the new legislation would apply to all online sportsbooks currently active in the US, as well as federally regulated prediction markets. 

Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour was on-hand when the legislation was officially introduced by Gottheimer, claiming that protecting children should be the “top priority” for operators of both industries. 

Sportsbooks such as William Hill, FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM already use facial recognition software as a passkey for users to access their accounts, although it does not appear as if the system is capable of verifying a user’s age. 

Kalshi made its own headlines on July 16 after unveiling products which allow for wagers on clinical trial results and regulatory approvals, including bets on whether the US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) will approve treatments developed by leading drugmakers. 

The operator launched 13 new biotech contracts in collaboration with event detection platform AppliedXL, having previously shown interest in offering contracts tied to flight delays and cancellations as well. 

Also on July 16, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) opened an investigation into teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez, who is accused of using inside information to profit off event contract trades related to speeches conducted by President Donald Trump.

Perez allegedly placed bets on more than 12 of President Trump’s speeches over a three-month span, including a December primetime address, a January speech at the World Economic Forum and remarks made during a Medal of Honor ceremony in March.

Having won over $100,000 on the trades, Perez has since been placed on unpaid administrative leave and is currently working with CFTC investigators on a settlement which would require him to return his profits and refrain from making similar wagers.