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New Jersey lawmaker introduces measure to allow in-state college sports betting
Changes to sports betting could be on the horizon in The Garden State.
New Jersey became one of the first states to legalize sports betting after the repeal of PASPA back in 2018. As one of the first states to act, New Jersey sports betting has guidelines that intrested parties have now tried multiple times to repeal.
Betting on in-state college sports teams is illegal in the state of New Jersey. The idea of allowing in-state betting on local college teams was put on the ballot in 2021, but it was shot down after just 43% of voters approved the measure.
Here we are a few years later, and the idea is once again making the rounds in the New Jersey legislature. Assemblyman Michael Venezia introduced constitutional amendment ACR140 in late June. The bill requests an amendment to the state constitution to permit sports wagering through casinos and current or former horse racetracks on all college sport or athletic events.
If approved by the legislators, the bill will appear on the 2025 ballot and in-state betting would not be legalized until the start of 2026.
Changing times calls for amendment
According to Assemblyman Venezia, the changing times in the college athletics world makes this an appropriate time to introduce this bill.
The ban on in-state college sports bets aims to safeguard against the idea of young athletes feeling pressure or being threatened to shave points or throw games. While it may not be a concern for prominent programs in big conferences like Rutgers, there are lesser known programs like NJIT, Rider and Saint Peter’s playing in smaller conferences with a lot less scrutiny.
However, Venezia believes that with the advancement of NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals and players getting the opportunity to earn money to play college athletics, the idea of financially benefiting from a betting scandal no longer has the same appeal.
This bill has failed in the past
As mentioned, this isn’t the first time that New Jersey legislation has tried to remove this stipulation from their gambling rules. The idea of allowing in-state college betting was put on the ballot in 2021. The results were somewhat close, but the measure failed by a 43-57 vote.
Currently, New Jersey is one of 15 states where betting on local college teams is not permitted. While the split is close across the country, the idea of allowing betting on in-state college teams is generally slightly more popular than forbidding it.
New Jersey has missed out on some potential major revenue in recent years thanks to this law. The state is also at risk of missing out on more revenue in the coming years.
Most notably, New Jersey residents weren’t allowed to bet on the NCAA Tournament Cinderella runs of Princeton and Fairleigh Dickinson in 2023 and Saint Peter’s in 2022.
New Jersey doesn’t even allow betting on college games taking place inside the state’s borders, even when the event features out-of-state teams. Bettors learned this the hard way in 2021, when they weren’t allowed to bet on the Army-Navy football game because it was played at MetLife Stadium.
In 2025, the Prudential Center is scheduled to host a series of games during the NCAA Tournament. New Jersey residents will not be allowed to bet on those games, regardless of whether a local team is playing or not.
For the upcoming season, Rutgers has landed the commitments of Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, two players currently projected to be drafted in the top five of the 2025 NBA draft. Greg Schiano has done a tremendous job rebuilding Rutgers’ football program, coming off a 7-6 season and a bowl appearance. New Jersey residents won’t be able to bet on either of these teams.
New Jersey willing to ban in-state player props
While New Jersey does not allow betting on local college teams, they do allow betting on college player props. Betting on college props has become a hot-button issue recently.
After some betting scandals involving players at both Iowa and Iowa State, as well as former Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon providing non-public information about his starting pitcher to a bettor in Ohio, there has been a call to ban betting on college player props. NCAA President Charlie Baker is one of the leaders of those rallies.
When asked about the idea, Assemblyman Venezia said that he supports the banning of player props.