New York proposes biometric checks for sports betting apps

New York officials are considering new sports betting safeguards that could require biometric confirmation from users before they place online wagers, a proposal that has opened a broader debate over age verification, consumer protection, fraud prevention, and privacy.

Gov. Kathy Hochul directed the New York State Gaming Commission to explore technology tools, including facial recognition, as part of an effort to stop minors from accessing sports betting platforms.

She said that as online sports betting becomes “immensely popular” and online gambling platforms become more sophisticated and accessible, it is essential to protect young people from the harmful effects of gamified sports betting, including “significant financial loss and addictive behavior.”

“From day one, one of my highest priorities has been keeping kids and our most vulnerable safe in a rapidly changing digital world, and that includes risks posed by online gambling,” Hochul said in a statement.

She added that “by engaging tools like biometric age verification, establishing stronger prevention and treatment and applying the same vigilance to online betting that we have brought to social media and AI we will build on our progress to protect New Yorkers from predatory and addictive technologies.”

The proposal comes as the state looks to impose broader gambling safeguards, including measures that would block minors from betting apps and limit how companies target users.

The state gaming commission has proposed changes to sports betting rules intended to better prevent underage gambling and problem gambling.

The commission issued the “pre-proposal comment memo,” Potential Rulemaking for Underage Play Prevention, which includes draft language to amend 9 NYCRR § 5402.4 by adding new subdivisions on “Mitigation of risk of underage play,” definitions, and exclusion for facilitating underage gambling.

One proposal would require biometric confirmation for bettors, raising the possibility that users could be asked to verify their identity through facial recognition or another biometric authentication method before betting.

The draft regulations go further than a general directive to study biometric tools. They would require a gaming operator to collect biometric data when an individual establishes an account, with the stated purpose of ensuring that the later user of the account is the same person who created it.

Gambling operators would also have to close any existing account whose owner fails to provide biometric data within 60 days after the effective date of the rule.

The proposal would also require users to provide biometric identification before placing a wager in an application session and before any wager is accepted. The operator’s written controls would have to be submitted to the commission for review and approval.

The proposed rule would apply not only to mobile sports wagering platforms and operators, but also to horse racing account wagering providers and lottery courier services.

Under a related amendment, lottery courier services would have to take the same underage play mitigation measures as gaming operators.

State gaming commission chairman Brian O’Dwyer said in a statement that he “fully supports and applauds Governor Hochul’s commitment to protect New Yorkers, including safeguards to prevent underage individuals from gambling and employing innovative tech to identify and help those who may be experiencing gambling harms.”

“The commission will consider actions to prevent underage access, including the possibility of biometric requirements for account access and real consequences for those who share their legal accounts with underage individuals,” O’Dwyer said, adding that “we will also continue to work with [the Office of Addiction Services and Supports] to implement the latest technology into the online sports wagering process to best position access to help for those who need it.”

Supporters of stronger verification requirements argue that conventional checks may not be enough to keep minors off gambling platforms, particularly when accounts can be opened or accessed with borrowed credentials.

Biometric authentication could make it harder for a minor to use another person’s account and could also help platforms detect fraud or account misuse.

The draft regulations would also require operators to employ age-assurance controls to prevent anyone ineligible to wager because of age from downloading or installing a betting application.

In the case of mobile devices, operators would have to verify through the operating system whether a device is indicated as being owned or possessed by an underage person.

If the device indicates underage ownership or possession, the application download would have to be prohibited regardless of any age assurance otherwise provided.

Hochul’s plan is being framed as part of a wider consumer protection effort aimed at preventing underage sports betting and strengthening protections for New Yorkers, including safeguards tied to problem gambling.

The commission’s draft regulations also includes geolocation and account access provisions intended to detect account sharing or suspicious use.

Operators would have to use geolocation controls, subject to commission review and approval, to identify and deny access when an account is accessed from a mobile device other than the one customarily used by the customer or from locations from which the customer does not customarily access the application, unless the customer provides biometric confirmation to restore access.

Operators would also have to identify and prevent account access when activity is occurring in two or more locations close enough in time that the account holder is unlikely to be in both places.

The draft regulations would additionally require operators to let an individual over the age of 18 block the use of that person’s Social Security number to establish an account for a fixed period.

The proposal would create reporting obligations and penalties for adults who facilitate underage gambling. Gaming operators would have to report to the commission the identity of any user known or reasonably suspected to have provided access to a betting application to a person who is ineligible to wager because of age.

A new exclusion provision would require the commission to maintain a list of people it determines have facilitated access to gambling activity by an underage individual.

Those people would be excluded or ejected from gaming facilities and barred from directly or indirectly collecting winnings or recovering losses from gaming activity, including lottery activity, while on the exclusion list.

The proposed regulations would also allow certain winnings to be forfeited to the commission where authorized by state law and would remove excluded people from lottery subscription programs.

The use of biometrics, however, could create new legal and privacy concerns. Any requirement that bettors submit face scans or other biometric identifiers would raise questions about what data is collected, whether it is stored by sportsbooks or third-party vendors, how long it is retained, whether it can be reused for other purposes, and what happens if it is breached.

Those questions are especially significant because the draft rule would not merely allow biometric verification as an optional tool. As written, it would require biometric data at account creation, biometric identification before wagers are placed and accepted, and biometric confirmation in some circumstances where geolocation or device-use patterns suggest unusual account access.

The debate also comes as online gambling operators face pressure to maintain a regulated market that users will continue to trust. If verification becomes too burdensome, critics may argue that some bettors could move to illegal or offshore betting platforms with fewer safeguards.

For regulators, the central issue is whether New York can strengthen age verification and problem gambling protections without building a system that normalizes routine biometric checks for lawful online activity.

The answer may depend on how narrowly the rules are written, whether biometric data is stored or only used for one-time verification, and what privacy limits are placed on sportsbooks and vendors.

It may also depend on how the commission responds to pre-proposal comments from operators, privacy advocates, problem gambling experts, identity verification vendors, and the public before moving to a formal rulemaking process.

Article Topics

age verification  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  facial recognition  |  gambling  |  identity verification  |  legislation  |  New York