The New Jersey State Senate has greenlit a proposed bill that would put an end to “sweepstakes casinos” in New Jersey. As reported recently here on poker.pro, NJ is just one of several states looking to crack down on the model that aims to skirt state gambling regulations to allow poker and casino models to operate online in places where real-money gambling is prohibited, or highly regulated, online.
New Jersey Assembly Bill 5447 has just passed through the Senate with an overwhelming majority, signalling a real desire from elected representatives for the bill to go into effect. That means the bill has rounded the final corner on the legislative track, and is just waiting for the Governor’s signature on the final straight.
The Legislative Process
Getting to this stage has been a somewhat quicker process for New Jersey than California. The left coast state started it’s journey to ban the sweeps model on Feb 19, a month before New Jersey’s Mar 17 start, but California’s bill is still in the Senate, heading for a third reading, while the NJ bill is heading for the Governor’s desk already.
Fast Action on the Right Coast
| Date of Action | Chamber | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Jun-30 | Senate | Passed Senate (Passed Both Houses) (34-5) |
| Jun-30 | Senate | Substituted for S4282 (1R) |
| Jun-30 | Senate | Received in the Senate without Reference, 2nd Reading |
| Jun-30 | Assembly | Passed by the Assembly (69-10-1) |
| Jun-19 | Assembly | Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading |
| Jun-19 | Assembly | Transferred to Assembly Appropriations Committee |
| May-08 | Assembly | Reported out of Asm. Comm. with Amendments, and Referred to Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee |
| May-08 | Assembly | Transferred to Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee |
| Mar-17 | Assembly | Introduced, Referred to Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee |
Industry Pushback
As in California, the online casino industry has pushed back in New Jersey, as well as elsewhere. The Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) is one of the loudest voices. As quoted on Yardbarker.com, “Governor Murphy has an opportunity to do what the Legislature would not—listen to facts, not fear,” said a spokesperson for the SPGA. “This bill doesn’t just mischaracterize an entire industry, it ignores data, undermines innovation, and puts New Jersey’s reputation as a forward-thinking leader in tech and entertainment at risk.”
The SPGA isn’t the only industry player speaking up. Jessica Wellman reported on X that the CEO of the World Poker Tour, Adam Pliska, was heavily involved in last-minute talks with state officials to rethink the legislation.
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Model Under Threat, but Still Active in Many Places
While there are many US jurisdictions with active legislation in progress to ban or severely restrict the “sweeps” model for online gambling, the majority of the US seems just fine with it — at least for now. With 8 states looking at legislation right now, that leaves 42 states where the model remains free to operate with few legal restrictions.
States with Pending Legislation on Sweeps Casinos
- New York
- New Jersey
- Florida
- Connecticut
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- Nevada
- California
It remains to be seen if more states will follow the leaders or stay the course. It’s worth noting that among the states looking to crack down on the model are the very meccas of gambling in the US — Nevada and New Jersey have been the two main legal gambling zones for decades in the US, while places like California and New York have always been hotbeds of gambling action as well, even if some of it was underground.
States like California and New York are also among the biggest in the land, which gives their moves a bit more legislative clout, as those two states represent about 60 million Americans, or more than 17% of the total population. That means a ban in those states will have a much larger economic impact on the industry than, say, Maryland.
Whether that encourages other states to follow suit, or makes the industry less viable economically, remains to be seen, but for the moment at least, nearly 300 million Americans still live somewhere they can access sweeps casinos without legal barrier.
