Kids digital safety concerns collide with prediction market debate 

The growing popularity of prediction markets has caught the attention of kids online safety advocates in Congress and gambling researchers, putting pressure on the industry to explain what they are doing to prevent minors and those younger than 21 from using their platforms. 

The scrutiny from Congress largely comes from a contingent of lawmakers who have long focused on kids’ digital safety, for which efforts have largely targeted the addictive nature of social media platforms and artificial intelligence chatbots. 

But as the rising popularity of prediction markets becomes impossible to ignore, lawmakers and safety advocates are wrestling with how to address the potential harms and addictive nature of betting markets on both minors and those younger than 21, the legal gambling age in most U.S. states. 

“The fear for me — prediction markets, gambling, you name it — is we’ve sort of introduced it into the cultural conversations, we’ve socialized it, and now a 17-year-old wants to do it,” Jonathan Cohen, the sports betting policy lead for the American Institute for Boys and Men, told The Hill.

Cohen, whose research has focused on sports gambling and recently expanded to prediction markets, suggested teenagers likely do not “care a lot about the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and its regulatory structure.”

Lawmakers and their staffers are still learning the intricacies of how prediction markets work, though some legislative efforts emerged this spring in the wake of the boom of event contracts.  

A bipartisan pair of senators introduced legislation Monday to ban digital gambling advertisements that target minors. The bill, titled the Gaming Advertisement to Minors Enforcement (GAME) Act, would establish a federal ban on sports betting ads placed on social media platforms like Instagram or TikTok. Penalties for violating this could reach up to $100,000 per advertisement, The Wall Street Journal first reported. 

The bill is sponsored by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.), both of whom have sponsored other bills to hold social media and AI platforms liable for the content shown to minors. 

Blumenthal, who has pushed his Kids Online Safety Act for years, said sportsbook and prediction markets are “treating young people like a gold rush, flooding the internet with advertisements and promotions to hook them on gambling when they’re young.”

Britt alleged prediction market and sports gambling ads can “serve as a gateway to dangerous habits.” 

This followed another bill introduced by Blumenthal in March that was aimed at preventing abuse and fraud in prediction markets. Among its provisions are an age-verification requirement and a ban on advertising to underage users and those on the self-exclusion list, which is made up of individuals who request to be excluded from gambling activities. 

These bills are mostly focused on the advertisement structure, though Kalshi, which is federally regulated, tried to set the record straight earlier this month on how it tries to prevent those younger than 18 from using the platform.

As part of the initiative, the platform made face ID the default for users who already have it enabled on their phones and encouraged parents to use Kalshi with two-factor authentication to prevent their kids from accessing their accounts. 

The company also launched a feature to allow users to check whether someone is logging in under their ID, in addition to requesting selfies “as an extra protection layer from higher-risk individuals.”

The features appear to be geared toward preempting the possibility of children using their parents’ devices. Elisabeth Diana, the head of communications for Kalshi, told The Hill the company hopes the features will “create more friction for people who maybe are higher risk or are some of our youngest users.”

Should the platform suspect violating activity, it may also ask for a selfie to compare against verification documents required when first setting up the account.

It’s not clear whether any minors have slipped through Kalshi’s cracks, and when asked what prompted the initiative, Diana said this was not an issue and the firm is “trying to get ahead” on the topic. 

“We know it’s something that has come up on social media and other platforms. And while we are different, we believe there is a risk with financial markets, especially for people who are new to financial trading,” Diana added. 

While measures like these could prevent users younger than 18 from accessing the platform, gambling researchers still have concerns about users between the ages of 18 and 21. 

In another bipartisan bill, Sens. John Curtis (R-Utah) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) proposed to prohibit entities registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), like prediction markets, from listing prediction contracts that “resemble a sports bet or casino-style game.” 

“Too many young people in Utah are getting exposed to addictive sports betting and casino-style gaming contracts that belong under state control, not under federal regulators,” Curtis said. 

The Utah Republican’s comment alludes to a larger debate around prediction markets, and whether they have to follow state gambling laws.

Operators of prediction markets argue the product they offer is distinct from traditional gambling and not subject to gambling laws. CFTC Chair Mike Selig agrees with this distinction, arguing the platforms fall under federal jurisdiction; he has sued a handful of states over their market regulations.  

The issue has split Republicans, with several still backing state regulation. The Gambling Not Investing Coalition, led by former Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), contends prediction markets are improperly bypassing state laws. 

Mulvaney, who served as the director of the Office of Management and Budget and acting White House chief of staff in the first Trump administration, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that “some of the most active bettors” during the 2026 March Madness season “may not even be old enough to legally place a wager in most states.” 

“If you can stake money on whether a team covers the spread, hits the over/under or wins outright, the label doesn’t matter,” Mulvaney said in March.

Most states mandate legal sportsbooks that can be accessed only by those 21 or older, while prediction markets allow users at age 18 to throw money on sports-related wagers. And in some states like South Carolina, where sports betting is not legal, prediction markets are able to operate. 

“The age issue is particularly hard to ignore,” Mulvaney said. “For years, policymakers debated the minimum age for sports betting, often landing on 21 to protect younger users. Prediction markets have effectively reset that threshold to 18 — not through legislation but through regulatory gamesmanship,” wrote Mulvaney, a contributor for NewsNation, The Hill’s partner network.

Prediction markets have also populated brokerage apps and cryptocurrency platforms. 

“Just like any online gambling platform, this is an easy-to-play, fast moving website or app that may even be worse than traditional sports gambling. … It’s disguised and legally codified as investment,” Cohen added. 

New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) sued Coinbase and Gemini last month, alleging the crypto firms violated state gambling laws, including the 21-plus rule,  with their prediction market offerings.

“Gemini and Coinbase’s so-called prediction markets are just illegal gambling operations, exposing young people to addictive platforms that lack the necessary guardrails,” she said.