The prediction market platform Kalshi is taking steps to remove minors from opening an account, but will continue to allow 18-20 year-olds to trade, according to reports.
Children are already barred from placing trades, but in an interview with Axios, CEO Tarek Mansour says the company is taking additional steps to restrict access.
Facial recognition technology to fight underage trading
Kalshi will implement a number of tools to help prevent young people from accessing the site, including facial recognition technology, which all users would need to use in order to open the app.
Other measures include requiring some higher-risk users to submit selfies for identity verification, promoting the use of two-factor authentication, and introducing a tool that alerts users if someone else has accessed their account. There have been rising cases of young people signing in on a parent’s account in order to place a trade.
Mansour said the company is taking these steps because they believe it is the responsible action. He told Axios: “We’re essentially proactively doing that before we’re required to do them because we think a lot of these measures are the right thing to do,
“The goal for Kalshi here is we want to set a … new state-of-the-art benchmark when it comes to customer protection.”
Kalshi is on a PR drive at the moment as it aims to battle mounting political opposition to the business, with multiple accusations of insider trading taking place on their platform and with other companies, including Polymarket and Coinbase.
Study shows 36% of 11-to-17-year-old boys have gambled in the last year
A recent report conducted by Common Sense Media revealed a growing gambling habit appearing in young men, with 36% of young boys aged between 11 and 17 placing bets.
The wide-ranging study also revealed how peer influence plays a significant role in youth gambling behavior. Older teens are more likely to have friends who gamble, and participation rises sharply alongside those social circles. Boys whose friends gamble frequently report far higher rates of gambling than those without such exposure.
Nearly half of boys who gamble say they encounter gambling-related content online, often through algorithm-driven feeds rather than active searches. Those exposed to such content tend to spend more money and are more likely to cite motivations such as winning money, peer behavior and influencer promotion.
On average, boys who gamble spend about $54 annually, though spending increases with age and frequency. Regular gamblers and those exposed to more content report higher spending, with a sharp divide between lower-loss and higher-loss participants.
Additionally, boys with higher losses show more intense patterns of engagement, including greater exposure to gambling content and stronger social influences. They are also more likely to overspend and, in some cases, report using parents’ payment methods without permission.
Sports betting addiction tackled in new bill
Meanwhile, two senators have introduced a bill aimed at taking on the issues that can lead to sports betting addiction developing.
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representative Paul D. Tonko have introduced the Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet, or SAFE Bet, Act, aimed at addressing the growing impact of mobile sports betting nationwide.
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted a federal ban on sports wagering in 2018, allowing states to legalize and regulate the practice individually. That shift has led to a rapid expansion of online sportsbooks across the country.
Popular platforms such as FanDuel and DraftKings have surged in use, but many politicians are warning of rising gambling addiction, particularly among younger users, like the Common Sense Media report suggests.
Lawmakers and consumer advocates have also raised concerns about marketing practices, including targeted promotions. A growing number of lawsuits allege that sportsbooks use data-driven algorithms to identify and encourage high-risk users to place more frequent and larger bets despite potential financial harm.
The act would set federal minimum standards for sportsbook marketing, affordability and artificial intelligence use, aiming to reduce addiction risks and financial harm. The bill would ban betting ads during live sports and restrict promotions like bonus or “no sweat” bets, limit deposits to five per day, require affordability checks for high-spending users and prohibit credit card funding.
Blumenthal said: “We are facing a perfect storm of addiction fueled by technology designed to target customers in real time, especially young people. Fighting this industry is an uphill battle. We need better laws, stronger enforcement, and continued public advocacy, but I believe we will prevail.”
