1

New Jersey Lawmakers Advance College Player Prop Betting Ban

Lavina Molnar edited this page 2026-04-30 00:20:24 +02:00

An expense that would prohibit college player props at sportsbooks in New Jersey is gaining traction in the legislature.

The New Jersey Assembly's tourism, 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 college sport or athletic occasion."

To put it simply, there would disappear college gamer props for Garden State punters at locally regulated sportsbooks if the costs ends up being law.

While New Jersey sports betting rules prohibit betting on in-state college groups, they allow banking on college player props, at least for now.

"As one of the first states to legislate sports betting, I think that it is our obligation to guarantee that we set the best example we possibly can for all others who wish to follow our lead," stated Democratic Assemblyman Sterley Stanley, A4905's sponsor, in a statement following the committee vote. "Even as a strong fan of the sports wagering industry, I believe it is incumbent upon us to acknowledge the extraordinary pressures that college athletes face between their scholastic and athletic obligations. My legislation guarantees that they do not have actually those pressures intensified by issue gamblers that have come to bug our college professional athletes when gamblers lose cash on college player proposition bets."

Be 'reasonable'

If New Jersey were to prohibit college gamer props, it would continue the current pattern of states kiboshing those betting markets over concerns of student-athlete harassment and abuse, to name a few things.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and its president, previous Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker, have actually been lobbying states for prop bans with those concerns 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 question they are getting pestered by gamblers," Austin Meo, the assistant director of federal government relations for the NCAA, informed the Assembly committee on Thursday. "That threatens the integrity of the video game, and it threatens the wellness of college professional athletes everywhere."

Meo stated that 20 states enable college player props in some type. However, he also noted that at the start of 2024, there were 24 states, before Ohio, Maryland, Vermont, and Louisiana moved this year to limit those wagering markets.

"Taking an affordable step that half the states with sports wagering have actually required to forbid prop bets is something New Jersey can do to help react to this severe problem," Meo said.

Highway to 'hell'

There is no assurance New Jersey will go through with a college gamer prop restriction, although current history recommends there is a possibility. Nevertheless, A4905 and S3080 will face opposition from licensed sportsbook operators and other interested celebrations in the Garden State, one of the most fully grown markets for legal sports betting in the U.S.

Lobbyist Bill Pascrell, of Princeton Public Affairs Group, told the Assembly committee on Thursday that there is "no evidence or positive information" from the worried parties that enabling prop bets makes gamers more susceptible than permitting betting on college teams.

Pascrell said prohibiting college player props will shift that action to unlawful and overseas sportsbooks, even if that action is a reasonably small percentage of all sports wagering.

"The states don't have the long arm of the law to reach the black market," Pascrell said in opposing the costs. "This makes sure that folks that bet this type of prop bet, and it's a little section of the market, around two to 4%, will simply go to the black market. And we do not see any evidence favorable that by providing this bet, we're making folks more susceptible, because the bet will just relocate to the black market."

Pascrell stated New Jersey's on in-state college betting pressed betting on those schools in basketball tournaments to the black market or sportsbooks in close-by states.

"I know this costs has the best of intents, however I think sometimes the road to hell is paved by the finest of intents, and I believe we ought to reconsider this issue, due to the fact that I'm worried about the surge of the black market and this will assist those in the black market," Pascrell informed the committee.

College player prop betting is completed in Ohio since March 1. Matthew Schuler, executive director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission, announced today he authorized the NCAA's demand to ban such wagering. Any staying futures should be voided by next Friday.