Any public colleges and universities in New Jersey that partner with sports-betting companies would be required to create a gambling addiction prevention program for students under a bill that cleared the Assembly on Thursday.

The move by legislators comes as recent research details the popularity of online gambling among young adults in New Jersey. One-third of gamblers ages 18 to 24 gambled online only, nearly five times as many as in a prior survey and more than any other age group, according to a follow-up report by the Rutgers Center for Gambling Studies that was funded by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement and released earlier this year. Additionally, about 19% of 18- to 24-years-old were at high risk for problem gambling, according to the report.

“It’s great that there’s legislation that’s advocating for gambling addiction prevention programs at colleges and universities in the state of New Jersey, but what concerned us was the inclusion of sports-wagering partnerships at those institutions,” said Felicia Grondin, the executive director for the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey.

Grondin said that it is “extremely important” to have prevention programs for young people, especially because some of the students at institutions are under 21, so they are not able to legally gamble in the state. Additionally, research that the council either acquired or assisted in producing indicates that people that begin to gamble early in life are far more likely to develop gambling problems later in life, Grondin said.

“Since the onset of sports betting in 2018, calls to our 800-Gambler helpline from individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 years old, they’ve doubled,” said Grondin. “And that indicates that more and more young people are developing a gambling problem at an early age.,”

Sobering stats

Of 16- to 25-year-olds in New Jersey who gambled online, nearly eight in 10 began their betting before their 21st birthday, according to a report from the Compulsive Gambling council and Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business. That study was conducted in the spring of 2023 and assessed the prevalence of online gambling by bettors in that age group in New Jersey. Additionally, nearly four in 10 respondents began gambling between the ages of 15 and 18, the report noted.

While problem gambling threatens all demographics, young men are particularly vulnerable because typically they are inclined to take risks, love sports and believe that they can do anything, Grondin said.

Addiction prevention programs created under the bill must provide students with education materials that promote responsible gambling behavior as well as information on a hotline for problem gamblers. The hotline must be posted on the school’s website and in each sports facility, dormitory, library and student center, among other areas on campus, according to the bill.

The bill passed the Assembly 72-1, with seven legislators not voting. It still needs to pass the Senate before the legislative term ends early next month before becoming law.

Too little, too late?

Some responsible gaming experts question whether a hotline is the best way to reach today’s generation.

“Having a hotline, nothing wrong with that. Frankly, they ought to. But to me, the larger question is, how deep within the campus community are they going to engage on this topic?” asked Alan Feldman, the distinguished fellow in responsible gaming at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’s International Gaming Institute.

“Simply handing out a brochure, by the time someone needs that, it’s too late. By the time they need the hotline, there probably is already harm done. What’s being done to explain to students that this is, frankly, for most of them, illegal?” asked Feldman.

The state Division of Gaming Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for information on any colleges and universities in the state that have existing partnerships.

Other steps

The state has taken a number of steps to address gambling issues, including a self-exclusion program created in 2001 to allow people with a gambling problem to voluntarily exclude themselves from gambling in all Atlantic City casinos, according to the Office of the Attorney General. In 2013, the program was expanded to also include self-exclusion for internet gambling.

In addition, the state announced earlier this year that operators of online gambling platforms will now be required to analyze player data to determine whether a person is showing signs of problem gambling behavior, according to the attorney general’s office.

Still, experts remain concerned about partnerships between sports-gambling companies and universities.

“I find the whole notion that a university is in partnership with a sports gambling company is reprehensible,” said Andrew Zimbalist, a professor of economics at Smith College in Massachusetts. “It’s not what U.S. universities are supposed to be and if U.S. universities are so desperate for money that they’ll take partnerships or take corporate sponsorships from anybody who comes along, then we’re in really deep trouble.”