A bill that would prohibit college gamer props at sportsbooks in New Jersey is acquiring traction in the legislature.
The New Jersey Assembly's tourist, gaming, and arts committee voted Thursday to launch A4905, advancing the legislation and moving it closer to passage in Trenton.
A4905 - and its twin in the New Jersey Senate, S3080 - would ban sportsbooks from providing or accepting "any wager on a player-specific proposal bet on any collegiate sport or athletic event."
To put it simply, there would disappear college player props for Garden State punters at in your area regulated sportsbooks if the bill becomes law.
While New Jersey sports wagering rules forbid wagering on in-state college teams, they permit wagering on college gamer props, at least for now.
"As one of the first states to legalize sports betting, I believe that it is our duty to make sure that we set the finest example we potentially can for all others who want to follow our lead," said Democratic Assemblyman Sterley Stanley, A4905's sponsor, in a declaration following the committee vote. "Even as a staunch fan of the sports betting industry, I believe it is incumbent upon us to acknowledge the incredible pressures that college athletes face between their scholastic and athletic duties. My legislation ensures that they do not have those pressures intensified by issue gamblers that have come to harass our college athletes when bettors lose money on college player proposal bets."
Be 'sensible'
If New Jersey were to ban college player props, it would continue the recent trend of states kiboshing those wagering markets over issues of student-athlete harassment and abuse, amongst other things.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and its president, previous Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker, have been lobbying states for prop restrictions with those in mind. The NCAA supports A4905.
"Sports wagering is on the rise, and with it, so is the danger for college athletes, and there is no concern they are getting harassed by gamblers," Austin Meo, the assistant director of government relations for the NCAA, informed the Assembly committee on Thursday. "That threatens the integrity of the game, and it threatens the wellbeing of college professional athletes all over."
Meo stated that 20 states permit college player props in some form. However, he likewise kept in mind that at the start of 2024, there were 24 states, before Ohio, Maryland, Vermont, and Louisiana moved this year to restrict those betting markets.
"Taking a reasonable action that half the states with sports wagering have taken to forbid prop bets is something New Jersey can do to help respond to this major problem," Meo said.
Highway to 'hell'
There is no assurance New Jersey will go through with a college player prop restriction, although recent history suggests there is a possibility. Nevertheless, A4905 and S3080 will deal with opposition from licensed sportsbook operators and other interested celebrations in the Garden State, among the most fully grown markets for legal sports betting in the U.S.
Lobbyist Bill Pascrell, of Princeton Public Affairs Group, informed the Assembly committee on Thursday that there is "no proof or positive info" from the concerned parties that permitting prop bets makes gamers more vulnerable than allowing betting on college teams.
Pascrell stated banning college player props will move that action to prohibited and offshore sportsbooks, even if that action is a reasonably little portion of all sports betting.
"The states do not have the long arm of the law to reach the black market," Pascrell stated in opposing the costs. "This ensures that folks that bet this type of prop bet, and it's a small section of the industry, around 2 to 4%, will simply go to the black market. And we don't see any proof favorable that by offering this bet, we're making folks more susceptible, due to the fact that the bet will just move to the black market."
Pascrell said New Jersey's ban on in-state college wagering pushed banking on those schools in basketball tournaments to the black market or sportsbooks in nearby states.
"I understand this costs has the best of intentions, however I believe sometimes the roadway to hell is paved by the finest of intentions, and I believe we must reevaluate this problem, since I'm worried about the surge of the black market and this will assist those in the black market," Pascrell told the committee.
College gamer prop betting is completed in Ohio as of March 1. Matthew Schuler, executive director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission, revealed today he approved the NCAA's request to prohibit such wagering. Any staying futures must be voided by next Friday.
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New Jersey Lawmakers Advance College Player Prop Betting Ban
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