New Jersey Considers New Regulations Amid Risky and Underage Gambling

New Jersey’s Responsible Gambling Task Force has issued a new report, recommending certain restrictions that would make gambling safer to the public. Among other things, the task force proposed making ads less enticing and shielding minors from harm.

New Report Seeks to Address Problem Gaming in New Jersey

With almost all major verticals legal, fairly low taxes and robust gaming infrastructure, New Jersey has long cemented itself as one of America’s most gambling-friendly states. In recent times, however, some experts have acknowledged downsides to the industry’s growth, such as problem and underage gambling.

Because of that, the Responsible Gambling Task Force issued several regulatory recommendations. Coming shortly after assemblymen in neighboring New York discussed new restrictions for sports betting, the new proposals seek to prevent problem gambling in the state.

The task force was established by Governor Phil Murphy last year, in response to a Rutgers University Study which suggested that players in New Jersey are exposed to a higher risk of developing gambling problems.

The Task Force Recommended Certain Changes

Among other things, the Responsible Gambling Task Force’s report recommends adding gambling education to elementary schools. This recommendation comes amid disconcerting youth gambling rates in New Jersey, with some experts suggesting that many kids are already gambling in fifth and sixth grade. According to them, parents should be aware of the risks too.

In the meantime, the report recommends creating a responsible gambling board that would evaluate New Jersey’s safer gaming efforts, as well as an official site where people can exclude themselves from gambling. To that end, the Responsible Gambling Task Force proposed expanding the range of operators contributing to responsible gaming efforts and raising the penalties non-compliant companies face.

Additionally, the report proposed stricter restrictions on gambling ads, arguing that they should be more responsible. Mirroring similar measures in other regulated markets, the Responsible Gambling Task Force proposed adding obligatory messages that warn players about the potential risks they face when gambling.

Further restrictions may limit the number of ads that can be displayed at a single location, as well as the frequency of advertising. Daily fantasy sports operators, on the other hand, may be required to include links to self-exclusion programs, just like casinos and sportsbooks do.

Unlicensed Gaming Is Another Serious Issue

In addition to listing the aforementioned recommendations, the Responsible Gambling Task Force also emphasized the dangers of the unregulated market, urging action. It noted that unlicensed companies do not play by the rules and do not help the state fund safer gambling initiatives either, making them very problematic.

According to previous studies, roughly a quarter of all adults in the state had engaged in unregulated or illegal gambling in the past two years, highlighting the seriousness of the issue.

Unlicensed verticals New Jerseyans tend to engage with include controversial sweepstakes or even offshore operators and sportsbooks.