It has been 10 years since gambling in New Jersey was expanded, as legislators passed online casino gambling, and in November the legislation will expire.
Lawmakers must now craft another online gambling piece of legislation to extend the regulation and licensing of mobile gambling to 2033.
Bipartisan Support
Bill S3075 has support from both sides of the aisle to extend iGaming in the Garden State for another 10 years. And although the measure passed through an Assembly committee last week and is expected to get the governor’s stamp of approval when it arrives on his desk, politics is a funny game and almost anything is possible… but maybe not in this case, as online casino gaming has been a windfall for the state.
Hilary Chebra, the manager of government relations for the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey, voiced her opinion clearly when at a State and Local Government Assembly committee hearing last week, in which she said, “We believe this has been just a huge help to the casinos, particularly during the pandemic.”
Tax Revenue Soars
iGaming has been a cash cow for New Jersey tax collectors, generating $147 million in tax revenue in 2020, $206 million in 2021, and a whopping $250 million last year. And as the old saying goes, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” which is precisely the course of action the legislators are taking in this latest iteration of the gaming bill.
Sen. James Beach and Sen. Vincent Polistina, co-sponsors of the bill, have taken that tact with no changes from the previous version. Online casino platforms will still be required to partner with a land-based casino.
As it stands, there are currently 31 online casino operators partnering with the nine Atlantic City casinos. Each online casino is required to pay 15% of its profits to the state, and budgetary projections have the virtual casinos generating over $287 million to the state’s tax coffers this year.
New Jersey Tackles Underage Gambling
The same New Jersey legislator sponsoring the iGaming bill, Sen. James Beach, is also the primary sponsor of new legislation levying fines against underage gamblers at retail locations. According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, approximately 60% of high school-aged teenagers have gambled for money in the past year.
“It is our hope that this can help to address unhealthy relationships with gambling and prevent kids from becoming repeat offenders,” said Senator Beach.
Under the current New Jersey legislation, anyone under 21 who enters or gambles at a casino can be fined between $500 and $1,000 and is considered guilty of a disorderly person’s violation. The new law would have more bite to it by allowing courts the latitude to fine and/or require the underage violators to go to treatment.
Online Gambling Also a Concern
Felicia Grondin, the executive director for the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, indicated her support for the bill but reiterated that the focus shouldn’t be solely on retail gambling but online gambling as well.
“Online gambling is just as popular, if not more popular than in-person, brick-and-mortar casino gambling and definitely much more accessible. And there’s more opportunity for kids to gamble online given the fact that one can hide their identity online,” said Grondin.
Grondin further added, “Given the predominance of gambling in our state and in our country, as well as the excessive advertising, it’s going to affect our kids,” Grondin said. “They will view it as being very, very normal behavior. If they are not advised and educated as to the risks that are involved with gambling, they’re going to wind up in trouble,” she said.
Calculators
