A bill that would ban 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 release 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 offering or accepting “any wager on a player-specific proposition bet on any collegiate sport or athletic event.”
In other words, there would be no more college player props for Garden State punters at locally regulated sportsbooks if the bill becomes law.
While New Jersey sports betting rules prohibit wagering on in-state college teams, they permit betting on college player props, at least for now.
“As one of the first states to legalize sports gambling, I believe that it is our responsibility to ensure that we set the best example we possibly can for all others who wish to follow our lead,” said Democratic Assemblyman Sterley Stanley, A4905's sponsor, in a statement following the committee vote. “Even as a staunch supporter of the sports betting industry, I believe it is incumbent upon us to recognize the incredible pressures that college athletes face between their academic and athletic responsibilities. My legislation ensures that they do not have those pressures compounded by problem gamblers that have come to harass our college athletes when gamblers lose money on college player proposition bets.”
Be 'reasonable'
If New Jersey were to ban college player props, it would continue the recent trend of states kiboshing those betting markets over concerns of student-athlete harassment and abuse, among other things.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and its president, former Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker, have been lobbying states for prop bans with those concerns in mind. The NCAA supports A4905.
“Sports betting is on the rise, and with it, so is the risk for college athletes, and there is no question they are getting harassed by bettors,” Austin Meo, the assistant director of government relations for the NCAA, told the Assembly committee on Thursday. “That threatens the integrity of the game, and it threatens the wellbeing of college athletes everywhere.”
Meo said that 20 states allow college player props in some form. However, he also noted that at the start of 2024, there were 24 states, before Ohio, Maryland, Vermont, and Louisiana moved this year to restrict those betting markets.
“Taking a reasonable step that half the states with sports betting have taken to prohibit prop bets is something New Jersey can do to help respond to this serious issue,” Meo said.
Highway to 'hell'
There is no guarantee New Jersey will go through with a college player prop ban, although recent history suggests there is a chance. Nevertheless, A4905 and S3080 will face opposition from licensed sportsbook operators and other interested parties in the Garden State, one of the most mature 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 proof or positive information” from the concerned parties that allowing prop bets makes players more vulnerable than allowing wagering on college teams.
Pascrell said banning college player props will shift that action to illegal and offshore sportsbooks, even if that action is a relatively 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 bill. “This ensures that folks that bet this type of prop bet, and it's a small segment of the industry, around two to 4%, will just go to the black market. And we don't see any proof positive that by offering this bet, we're making folks more vulnerable, because the bet will just move to the black market.”
Pascrell said New Jersey's ban on in-state college wagering pushed betting on those schools in basketball tournaments to the black market or sportsbooks in nearby states.
"I know this bill has the best of intentions, but I think sometimes the roadway to hell is paved by the best of intentions, and I believe we should reconsider this issue, because I'm concerned about the explosion of the black market and this will aid those in the black market," Pascrell told the committee.
College player prop betting is finished in Ohio as of March 1. Matthew Schuler, executive director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission, announced today he approved the NCAA's request to ban such wagering. Any remaining futures must be voided by next Friday. pic.twitter.com/b9MXDJmZJE
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) February 23, 2024
Still, bookmakers who want to keep college player props in New Jersey must contend with the growing number of stories and studies about student-athlete harassment by bettors via social media and otherwise.
Some of those were aired on Thursday before the committee, such as former North Carolina basketball star Armando Bacot claiming he was attacked by bettors for failing to get enough rebounds in a game the Tar Heels won during the NCAA Tournament.
“I spoke to a D1 head football coach earlier this year who told me he has seen his star quarterback break down in tears after games because he received a flurry of Instagram direct messages from bettors blaming him for losing their prop bets,” the NCAA’s Meo told the committee on Thursday.
