Biometric Data Requirements May Help Deter Underage New York Sports Betting

• The New York State Gaming Commission may require the use of biometric data to create and access online sports betting accounts
• Additional safeguards will be explored to deter underage New Yorkers from online sports betting
• Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) called on lawmakers earlier this year to cut off sports betting access for underage residents

Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) recently posed a challenged to New York legislators and the New York State Gaming Commission, directing them to find new ways to deter underage New Yorkers from having access to online sports betting and online gambling.

The New York State Gaming Commission believes biometric data requirements may hold the key to Gov. Hochul’s directive.

The commission will look into several recommendations, mainly those that require the use of biometric data to create and access New York online sports betting accounts, and potentially institute them in the near future.

Fingerprints, Face ID May Be New Requirements

Gov. Hochul called out lawmakers during her state of the state address in January, touching on the need for more online safeguards for the youth of New York, citing the dangers of exposure to online sports betting, online gaming platforms such as “Roblox,” and social media for those under 18.

“Let’s block location-sharing and let’s do more to cut off access to online sports gambling so our kids are not ensnared by addiction at a young age,” she said.

New York State Gaming Commission Chair Brian O’Dwyer said underage residents of New York, particularly young men, are at great risk for developing problem gaming habits. Proper age verification controls can help, he noted, but may not be enough to reduce the prevalent problem.

The commission, he reported, will explore requiring sports betting users to provide certain biometric data to register and/or access an online sports betting account. These include face recognition and fingerprint identification to ensure the user is at least 21-years-old.

Additionally, already established account holders will be required to provide biometric data within 60 days or have their account closed.

The commission will also explore the possibility of requiring sports betting users to provide biometric data every single time they access an account to deter account sharing with underage New Yorkers.

O’Dwyer said the commission will begin sending out pre-proposals of these recommendations prior to the next meeting for comments and feedback. Recommendations may be available for discussion and a potential vote during the commission’s next meeting.

Heightened Penalties for Account Sharing

O’Dwyer said the commission may also make several recommendations to New York legislators. One of which would be to amend the law to consider the allowance or facilitating of a bet by an underage gambler to be endangering the welfare of a minor.

While this would not completely in control of the commission, O’Dwyer said the commission is within its power to heighten penalties for sports betting customers found to be sharing an account with an underage resident. The commission can permanently ban a customer from engaging in online sports betting if found to be engaging in such a practice, or even prohibit the customer from entering New York casinos.