Congress Puts 10 Gambling Operators on Notice Over Youth Harm
Five US House members, led by Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04) and Congressman Paul D. Tonko (NY-20), sent a formal letter on May 11 to the CEOs of ten sports betting and prediction market companies and demanded written responses on youth exposure, advertising practices, and consumer protection. The deadline is May 29.
The letter was addressed to Bet365, BetMGM, FanDuel, Fanatics, Caesars Entertainment, SidePrize, DraftKings, Polymarket, Kalshi, and Robinhood.
Prediction Markets Face Specific Scrutiny
The inquiry follows research published by Common Sense Media and cites a Morning Consult survey in which 77% of Americans said prediction market operators could increase gambling harm among young adults. A further 73% said financial terminology such as “contracts,” “swaps,” and “futures” makes it harder for younger consumers to recognize the risks involved.
Prediction markets drew specific scrutiny. Lawmakers argued that media partnerships between operators like Kalshi and Polymarket and outlets including CNN, CNBC, Dow Jones, and Yahoo Finance have helped normalize speculative betting among younger users under the cover of financial participation.
Sportsbooks Also Named
The letter did not spare traditional sportsbooks. It cited Bet365’s “Winning Is Everything” campaign and March Madness promotions from DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, and Fanatics as evidence of an industry-wide push to acquire younger customers. The letter identified men aged 18 to 24 as the highest-risk cohort, nearly twice as likely as the general public to have used a prediction market, sportsbook, or daily fantasy app in the past six months, according to survey data cited in the letter.
What the Letter Demands
The data demands are specific. Companies must disclose the share of active users aged 18 to 20, revenue generated by users aged 18 to 24, average deposits and losses by age group, and revenue tied to behavioral markers of problem gambling. They must also compare their problem gambling prevention budgets against annual advertising spend, and disclose any regulatory actions, fines, or settlements related to underage access or predatory advertising.
The lawmakers acknowledged some operators have introduced stronger age verification and self-assessment tools but called these measures “insufficient.” They noted that while legality remains contested across more than 30 active lawsuits, “the harm to young Americans is not.”
The letter also invited companies to brief congressional staff on their operations.
TGJ Take
The May 29 deadline is tight, and the data the lawmakers request goes well beyond what most operators publicly disclose: revenue by age group, problem gambling behavioral markers, and a direct comparison of ad spend against harm prevention budgets. Prediction market operators like Kalshi and Polymarket face the harder problem here. Federal lawmakers have now formally grouped them with DraftKings and Caesars, which effectively ends the argument that event contracts are financial products rather than gambling. For traditional sportsbooks, the letter singled out Bet365’s “Winning Is Everything” campaign as a direct signal on advertising tone. Any operator that cannot show proportionate compliance spend relative to its ad budget will be most exposed if this inquiry moves to formal hearings, and at this point that looks likely.
