Veteran Gaming Regulator Calls for Uniform Rules to Protect Young Adults

Posted on: September 30, 2024, 01:30h. 

Last updated on: September 30, 2024, 01:45h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More

Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

A veteran gaming regulator who oversaw one of the country’s largest gambling markets says states should have uniform minimum ages to participate whether it be to enter a casino or buy a lottery ticket.

David Rebuck retired in March after leading the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) for nearly 13 years. As director of the state gaming regulatory agency, Rebuck was responsible for enforcing the state’s Casino Control Act, the governing framework for the nine casinos in Atlantic City.

Rebuck says New Jersey’s gaming regulations need updating, as many of the laws were put on the books decades ago and have become antiquated in today’s digital age where billions of dollars are being gambled online each year.

Rebuck believes the appeal of sports betting to young adults is of utmost concern.

The former DGE boss thinks sports betting’s allure has also mainstreamed gambling as a whole. Rebuck suggests New Jersey raise the minimum age to play daily fantasy sports and purchase lottery products from 18 to 21 to fall in line with the age requirement to enter a casino, place a sports bet, or access a regulated iGaming platform.

Uniform Age 

New Jersey considers fantasy sports a contest of skill, not chance, and therefore it’s exempt from being regulated by the Casino Control Act. Controversial so-called skill games, online sweepstakes, and social casinos where no real money can be won also fall outside the scope of the New Jersey gaming law.

Rebuck says those channels are gateways to gambling and addictive behavior. He believes it would be smart to block young adults from getting their feet wet for three more years to provide ample time for those 18 to 21-year-olds to better understand the risks associated with the state’s many gambling channels.

Revising the age sends a powerful message that all gambling is an adult privilege. For some youth, gambling results in at-risk behavior with damaging lifelong consequences,” Rebuck wrote in a regulatory essay.

“Minors and 18 to 21 years old will undeniably benefit from the extra time to fully understand and prepare for any form of legal gambling engagement in the future,” Rebuck continued.

Internet Gaming Keeps Growing

Online gaming continues to bloom in the Garden State.

Internet slot machines and table games took $1.92 billion off of remote gamblers in 2023, a record high for New Jersey’s online casinos. Through eight months of 2024, iGaming gaming win is up another 23% to more than $1.52 billion.

In 2019, iGaming revenue totaled $482.7 million, meaning online gaming has grown 300% in just five years.

Sports betting continues to grow, too. Oddsmakers won an all-time high of more than $1 billion in 2023, a 32% year-over-year surge. Oddsmakers have kept $715.8 million of the bets wagered this year, almost 20% higher than they won through eight months last year.

In 2019, sports betting revenue totaled a little less than $300 million, meaning it has grown by 233% over five years.

Rebuck believes state gaming regulators — not politicians — are best suited to tailor their regulations.

“It’s mind-boggling to me the arrogance of saying ‘we know more than you do,'” Rebuck commented.