New Jersey, the state that paved the way for legal sports gambling when Governor Phil Murphy signed Assembly Bill 4111 in June 2018, is now considering a ban on prop bets related to college athletes’ performances.
This comes following a series of incidents where college athletes faced harassment from angry bettors when their performances did not meet expectations.
College Athletes, More Accessible
For instance, Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne received messages from bettors asking him for Venmo refunds after a disappointing game in September.
Similarly, North Carolina’s Armando Bacot was bombarded with over 100 direct messages from frustrated gamblers in March after failing to secure enough rebounds.
The state argues that student-athletes are more vulnerable to this type of pressure and harassment due to their close proximity to the general student body.
Namely, they dine, live, and attend classes with other students, unlike professional athletes who are often more isolated.
Accordingly, New Jersey is now weighing a bill that would ban so-called “prop bets” that involve wagering on individual college athletes’ stats.
The list includes the number of touchdowns thrown by quarterbacks, the number of accumulated yards by running backs, or how many rebounds basketball players collect.
NJ Could Join Other 14th States in the Ban
“Not all of what has come from the legalization of sports betting has been positive,” argued state Sen. Kristin Corrado.
Austin Mayo, assistant director of government relations for the NCAA, shared that one in three college athletes involved in heavily bet-on sports report experiencing harassment from gamblers.
However, not everyone agrees with the proposed ban or the harassment data. Bill Pascrell III, a lobbyist for the sports betting industry, argues that college prop bets make up only a small fraction of legal sports betting at around 2% to 4%.
He also warned that banning these types of bets could drive bettors to the black market, which is harder to regulate.
“When we ban any type of bet, particularly those that had been legalized, we’re pushing the bettor to the black market,” Pascrell argued.
At the moment, the Garden State allows bets on college games but prohibits betting on in-state teams or out-of-state teams playing within its borders.
The bill has already been approved and released from an Assembly committee and is awaiting approval from both chambers of the Legislature and Gov. Phil Murphy before it can be officially turned into law.
If passed, the bill would make New Jersey the 14th state to outlaw prop bets on college athletes, joining Ohio, Maryland, Vermont, Louisiana, Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
New Jersey’s landmark 2018 Supreme Court case paved the way for legal sports betting in the U.S., and 38 states have since legalized it. Missouri will follow suit in the near future.
In the meantime, the state’s online gambling industry is also in bloom. However, while authorities continue to reap the financial perks of this success, they are also concerned about the impact of online casinos on the overall economy as well as social health.
