Already setting sights on the 2021 election, a bill in the New Jersey Legislature would expand sports betting on collegiate sports to include New Jersey teams and games played in the state
The bill was amended earlier this month to include the expansion. When introduced, the bill would have asked voters to approve betting only on New Jersey college playoff or championship games. Currently, New Jersey’s sports betting law does not allow bets on the state’s college teams or games played in the state.
The bill has been approved by the State Senate Budget Committee advancing it towards a vote in the legislature.
State Sen. Paul Sarlo, a northern New Jersey Democrat who represents the area including MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, told the Associated Press that lawmakers decided to move forward with a more sweeping college sports betting bill.
“We got the blessing of the NCAA and the Attorney General’s Office and a lot of the teams so we figured why not just go for the whole thing?” Sarlo said.
Lawmakers are hoping the bill will help attract events like the NCAA basketball championship tournament. Newark’s Prudential Center is set to host one of the tournament’s regional competitions in 2025.
New Jersey’s sports betting set a national record in September, taking in more than $748 million in bets from sports gamblers finally able to wager on football amid the coronavirus outbreak. Over the first nine months of this year, New Jersey casinos and tracks have taken in nearly $3.3 billion in sports bets alone, according to an analysis by the AP.
