A bill making its way through the New Jersey legislature would ban sports bettors from receiving any promotions, bonuses, or credits if they sign up for any responsible gambling tools with any operator or with the state.
Assembly Bill 4003, penned by a trio of Democrats — Assemblymen Dan Hutchinson and Cody Miller, who represent districts that cover Atlantic, Camden, and Gloucester counties in south Jersey, and Michael Venezia of Essex County — would prevent sportsbooks from offering “promotional credits, incentives, bonuses, complimentaries, or similar benefits” to people who signed up for any RG tools. The books would be fined $500 for each infraction.
The bill sailed through the Assembly Tourism, Gaming, and the Arts Committee last week by a 5-0 margin.
There is a companion bill in the state Senate, sponsored by Sen. Paul Moriarty. That bill has been referred to the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee.
And while the bill clearly has its backers, not everyone in the responsible gambling community thinks this bill is a good idea.
“There is a major difference between responsible gambling and problem gambling. Ensuring that sportsbooks don’t market to self-excluded persons or people in a cool-off period is a valiant cause,” Jessica Welman, deputy director of the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, told InGame. “However, the wide berth of the bill goes beyond that and could discourage bettors from utilizing RG tools like spending reports, deposit limits, and betting limits. These are tools that ideally every bettor is taking advantage of, not just those who are experiencing a gambling problem.”
Busy busy
Hutchinson has been busy on the gambling front in the legislature, with at least two other bills in the pipeline.
A4002 also passed through committee last week, and that bill mandates sportsbooks to alert patrons if, when, and why they got limited by the books. He’s also the sponsor, along with Miller, of A5971, which would ban microbets in the state.
Meanwhile, Venezia is also the prime sponsor of A4838, which would slap sportsbooks with a 10% surcharge on all revenue from World Cup bets.
