US Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Ban Gambling Ads Targeting Minors
WASHINGTON, D.C. – US lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at preventing gambling advertisements from being targeted at minors online.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:The proposal comes as concern grows around rising sports betting exposure among young people across social media and digital platforms.
Republican Senator Katie Britt of Alabama and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut introduced the Gaming Advertisement to Minors Enforcement Act, known as the GAME Act, this week.
The legislation would prohibit major digital advertising platforms from serving gambling advertisements to underage users through targeted advertising systems that rely on personal data, behavioural profiling and device tracking.
Bill Would Target Social Media and Prediction Markets
The proposed law would apply to social media companies, websites, applications and online services with more than 100 million monthly users that generate revenue through advertising. Lawmakers said the bill would also apply to prediction market platforms that offer sports-related trading products.
“The rise in sports gambling among minors, particularly among young boys, is jarring”, Britt said. “Our legislation takes a critical step toward addressing this problem before it worsens.”
Blumenthal argued that betting operators and prediction market platforms were increasingly reaching younger audiences through online promotions.
“High schoolers, even middle schoolers, are now gambling on their phones as never before, losing real money and creating life-altering addiction”, he said.
FTC Would Enforce Penalties
Under the proposal, the Federal Trade Commission would treat violations as deceptive practices under consumer protection law.
Platforms that repeatedly fail to comply could face fines of up to $100,000 per advertising violation involving minors. The legislation also allows courts to impose injunctive relief against companies that continue serving prohibited advertisements.
The bill would take effect one year after passage, giving companies time to update advertising systems and compliance controls.
Lawmakers backing the proposal pointed to research showing that early gambling exposure significantly increases the risk of addiction later in life. Studies cited alongside the bill suggested that many adolescent boys who gamble have already encountered betting content online, often without actively searching for it.
More Regulation
Gambling Advertising Faces Growing Political Pressure
The legislation arrives during continued growth across online sports betting and prediction market sectors in the United States. Lawmakers and regulators have increasingly focused on how digital advertising algorithms expose gambling-related content to younger audiences.
Similar concerns are also shaping policy discussions in Europe, including Greece’s social media and gambling blocks for minors proposal.
The GAME Act is also part of a wider wave of gambling and prediction-market legislation introduced in Congress in recent months.
Other proposals include measures seeking to block sports event trading on prediction markets, restrict political insiders from using prediction platforms and prohibit contracts tied to violent or criminal events.
Supporters of the GAME Act said the bill is not intended to stop adults from accessing legal gambling products. Instead, they argue the goal is to reduce underage exposure in an online environment where betting promotions can spread rapidly through personalised advertising systems.
“In today’s digital age, dangers can enter our homes every single day through the palm of our children’s hands”, Britt said.
RELATED TOPICS: Regulation
Latest News
Responsible Gambling
Review this New Post
Leave a Comment
User Comments
Comments for US Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Ban Gambling Ads Targeting Minors