Riding the wave, New Jersey is once again leading the way in U.S. gambling reform with two open bills that seek to legalise sweepstakes casinos.
It was the Garden State’s maverick approach to legalising sports betting that triggered the momentous 2018 repeal of the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) – which has led to 39 of America’s 50 states–plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico–legalises online sportsbooks.
If you’re not familiar: In 2011, NJ citizens approved sports betting by referendum, with the market launching in 2012.
But major sports leagues–the NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA, and MLB–challenged the move and sued New Jersey, arguing it had violated PASPA.
And how did Jersey lawmakers respond?
Changing tack, they repealed state laws that made PASPA applicable, which allowed them to relaunch their sports betting market in 2014.
This, in turn, set the stage for Murphy v. NCAA (2018), the Supreme Court case that ultimately struck down PASPA. Murphy, incidentally, was New Jersey’s governor Phil Murphy, and he’s still in office now.
Murphy argued that PASPA violated the U.S. constitution’s 10th Amendment, the anti-commandeering principle, which prohibits the federal government from compelling states to enforce federal laws against their will.
And he won.
Now, building on their first-mover tradition, lawmakers in the Garden State–one of only seven states in the U.S. to legalise 360 iGaming–are once again seeking to set a precedent for the nation by permitting controversial sweepstakes casinos.
Two New Bills
Assembly Bill 5196 and Senate Bill 4109 propose similar terms and aim to legalise sweepstakes casinos, creating a licensing protocol and taxation system.
The major differences between the two bills are that Representative Clinton Calabrese (D) introduced AB 5196 on January 16, while Senator Joseph Cryan (D) introduced SB 4109 on February 3.
SB 4109 also packs more of a regulatory punch in areas like the proposed regulations surrounding financial and operational audits.
Both bills remain in committee stage.
Will They or Won’t They?
New Jersey lawmakers have never been shy about shaking things up when it comes to new and controversial forms of gambling, so there’s a real chance that one of these bills could get the green light in the state’s 2025 legislative session.
But realistically, SB 4109 has a stronger chance than AB 5196.
Bills that start in the Senate before heading to the Assembly have a history of sailing through–rather than vice versa–because the Assembly, with 80 members compared to the Senate’s 40, can be a bit of a circus, with long debates and political grandstanding.
Turning to the authors, Senator Cryan has more political clout than Representative Calabrese, having held past leadership roles as Union County Sheriff and Assembly Majority Leader – a factor that further boosts SB 4109’s prospects.
There’s also the fact that SB 4109 proposes marginally stronger regulatory controls, meaning casino operators and the traditional gambling sector are less likely to oppose the bill.
Should New Jersey lawmakers enact either of these bills, the Garden State is set to chart a new course.
But the billion dollar question remains. Which states will follow?
History tells us plenty.
