New Jersey’s Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced S-597, moving forward a proposal to replace criminal penalties for certain underage gambling violations with civil fines. The measure applies to people under 21 who enter or wager at licensed casinos and simulcasting facilities, while preserving the state’s minimum gambling age.
PlayUSA reported that the bill would replace the existing disorderly-persons offense with escalating penalties of up to $500 for a first violation, $1,000 for a second and $2,000 for a third or subsequent offense. CDC Gaming reported that the committee action had bipartisan support.
As reported Oct. 1, the proposal had been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee after senators introduced it as a way to remove criminal consequences for young gamblers while retaining age restrictions.
Under current law, an under-21 person who illegally enters or gambles at a covered venue can face a disorderly-persons charge, carrying a fine of $500 to $1,000 and up to six months in jail. People under 18 are handled through the state’s juvenile-delinquency system.
The bill would send money collected through the new civil penalties to the state General Fund, for legislative appropriation to the Department of Human Services. The funds would support compulsive-gambling prevention, education and treatment programmes that meet department criteria.
State Sen. James Beach, the bill’s sponsor, said the change would avoid burdening young people with criminal records while focusing on behaviour that could prevent future gambling addiction. He said directing fine revenue to prevention, education and treatment would help young people avoid later gambling-related problems.
The Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey has conditionally supported the legislation, but raised “serious reservations” about a civil penalty that does not require problem-gambling education. The council sought two changes to the bill’s language and said demand for treatment services had exceeded its budget in the preceding year.
The concern reflects wider evidence of youth exposure to gambling. A 2023 report by the council and Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business found that nearly eight in 10 New Jersey online gamblers aged 16 to 25 started betting before turning 21, while nearly four in 10 began between ages 15 and 18. The council also said calls to its 800-GAMBLER helpline had risen 277% from 2018, including a shift toward substantially more calls from young adults.
S-597 mirrors legislation that received preliminary approval in the previous year but did not become law.
