GAME Act Would Ban Sports Betting Ads Targeting Minors — What the Bipartisan Bill Means for the Industry

Senators Katie Britt, a Republican from Alabama, and Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, have introduced legislation called the Gaming Advertisement to Minors Enforcement Act, or GAME Act, which would create a federal ban on digital gambling advertisements targeted at people under 18. The bill covers both traditional sports betting operators and prediction market platforms, making it one of the most comprehensive advertising restriction proposals the gambling industry has faced in Congress.

Under the GAME Act, social media companies and digital ad networks would be prohibited from showing gambling ads to minors using behavioral targeting, personal data, or device identifiers. The Federal Trade Commission would enforce the rules, treating violations as deceptive trade practices under existing consumer protection law. Fines could reach $100,000 for each individual advertisement shown to a minor, and repeat offenders could be referred to the Department of Justice for further civil penalties. The law would take effect one year after enactment.

Why It Matters for Sports Betting

The sports betting industry has grown faster than the regulatory framework surrounding it. Since the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Murphy v. NCAA cleared the way for state-by-state legalization, the number of betting ads across social media, television, and streaming platforms has exploded. Critics argue that algorithmic ad targeting has allowed those ads to reach teenagers even when the intent was to target adults. States have attempted to address this with their own rules, but enforcement has been uneven and penalties have been limited.

The GAME Act’s bipartisan authorship gives it a better chance of advancing than bills with only single-party support. It also arrives alongside a broader congressional push to address gambling and prediction markets, with a Senate hearing scheduled for May 20. Major operators like DraftKings and FanDuel already have internal policies around not marketing to minors, but the bill would codify those obligations into federal law and add real financial stakes for platforms that fail to enforce them. Whether the GAME Act passes as a standalone bill or gets folded into larger legislation is the key question for the industry as the summer legislative calendar fills up.