Bipartisan GAME Act Would Create Federal Ban on Gambling Ads Targeting Minors With Fines Up to $100K Per Ad

Bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Katie Britt of Alabama and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut would prohibit digital advertising platforms from targeting sports betting and gambling ads at people under 18 years old. The Gaming Advertisement to Minors Enforcement Act, or GAME Act, creates a federal framework for restricting online gambling advertising to minors and empowers the Federal Trade Commission to enforce compliance, with penalties of up to $100,000 for each gambling advertisement shown to a minor.

The legislation is designed to close gaps that both senators say have allowed gambling companies and social media platforms to reach minors through algorithmically targeted ads on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. While many states and companies already have voluntary or state-mandated restrictions on gambling ads aimed at children, proponents of the GAME Act argue that those rules are inconsistently applied and carry insufficient consequences to change behavior at scale.

What the GAME Act Actually Does

The bill would prohibit social media companies and digital ad networks from delivering gambling ads to users under 18 based on personal information, behavioral data, or device identifiers. Those definitions cover virtually all modern targeted advertising, which means platforms could not rely on the argument that they did not actively choose to show gambling ads to a specific minor if their algorithmic systems made that decision automatically. Repeat violators could be referred to the Department of Justice, which could impose additional civil financial penalties. The law would take effect one year after enactment to give companies time to update their systems.

The bill explicitly covers prediction markets alongside traditional sportsbooks, placing platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket under the same advertising restrictions as licensed sports betting operators. That inclusion reflects how Congress is increasingly treating prediction markets as part of the same consumer protection conversation as sports betting.

Context and What Comes Next

The GAME Act arrives as a broader congressional push to regulate gambling advertising and prediction markets accelerates heading into the summer. A Senate Commerce Subcommittee hearing on prediction markets and sports betting is scheduled for May 20. The bipartisan nature of this bill gives it more credibility than partisan measures, but passing standalone legislation through Congress remains difficult. Operators with a national presence will likely watch whether the GAME Act advances independently or gets folded into larger comprehensive gambling legislation that several senators are working on simultaneously.