New Jersey Bill to Ban College Sportsbook Partnerships Advances in Trenton

Posted on: September 24, 2024, 01:30h. 

Last updated on: September 24, 2024, 01:42h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Legislation in New Jersey that would prohibit public institutions of higher learning from taking on partnerships and accepting marketing buys from sports betting companies advanced on Monday.

New Jersey sports betting Rutgers
Legislation in New Jersey seeks to keep sports betting ads out of public university venues like Rutgers’ SHI Stadium. (Image: Getty)

The New Jersey Assembly Higher Education Committee unanimously approved Assembly Bill 4113 by a 6-0 vote on Monday. Introduced in April by Assemblypersons Linda Carter (D-Plainfield), Benjie Wimberly (D-Paterson), and Reginald Atkins (D-Roselle), the statute would ban sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel from sponsoring public colleges and universities.

The statute, if passed by the New Jersey Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy (D), would exclude all sportsbook and sports betting ads on public campuses and at associated events. The order would extend to athletic departments and booster clubs in all advertising mediums and sponsorship formats.  

AB 4133 would additionally ban sports betting ads in all stadiums and facilities, inclusive of gameday programs.

New Jersey’s sports betting law already prohibits oddsmakers from taking bets on games involving state-based colleges and universities. The regulation also forbids betting on any college sport taking place inside the Garden State regardless of whether the contest involves a state-based school.

In 2021, New Jerseyans voted against a ballot measure that would have lifted those limitations.

Sports Betting Guardrails

Sports betting is legal and operational in some form, whether it be in-person, online, or both, in 38 states and Washington, DC. After the US Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on single-game sports wagering in May 2018, states moved quickly to get a piece of the action and generate new tax revenue.

The rapid passage of sports gambling laws and regulatory conditions has faced recent criticism from federal lawmakers. Earlier this month, US Rep. Paul Tonko (D-New York) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) filed a bill in Congress that would command states with legal sports betting to comply with a series of federal regulations designed to protect consumers from problem gambling.

States have pushed back on Tonko and Blumenthal’s bill on claims that they know how to best regulate gambling and sports betting in their jurisdictions. AB 4113 is evidence that lawmakers in states that regulate sportsbooks continue to review their sports betting protocols.

On both sides of the aisle, we realize that we have to put guards up to protect our residents,” Wimberly told NJ Spotlight News.

Carter and Atkins co-chair the Assembly Higher Education Committee. Wimberly is a member of the committee.

Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (R-Middletown) was the lone Republican participating in the six-member vote. The Higher Education’s only other Republican, Assemblywoman Michele Matsikoudis (R-New Providence), didn’t vote on the sports betting bill.

Previous Attempts Failed 

Similar legislation to outlaw sports betting sponsorships at New Jersey’s public institutions failed in previous years. Last year’s assembly measure also passed the chamber’s Higher Education Committee but stalled in the Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee.

Rutgers, the largest public college in New Jersey, already bans its student-athletes from entering into NIL (name, image, likeness) deals with casinos and sports betting entities. Rutgers doesn’t currently have an official sportsbook relationship like LSU and Michigan State do with Caesars Sportsbook.

In Louisiana, LSU students received a promotion in their university email inboxes from Caesars Sportsbook in 2022 encouraging them to “place your first bet and earn your first bonus.” The promotion caused a bounty of criticism, and ongoing controversies surrounding the marketing pact led to LSU terminating the seven-figure deal in 2023.

Michigan State ended its Caesars Sportsbook agreement that same year after fielding similar scrutiny.