Both chambers of the New Jersey legislature unanimously approved a bill that would require higher education institutions to provide resources and education on preventing problem gambling on an ongoing basis.
Assembly Bill A1715 mandates that state universities, colleges and community colleges must host the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey (CCGNJ) on campus a minimum of once per semester. The CCGNJ, which is the non-profit organization that runs the national 1-800-GAMBLER hotline, would provide on-campus information and resources including information regarding the potential risks associated with gambling, compulsive gambling counseling services and options for gambling self-exclusion programs.
The bill, which is a carryover from 2023, was approved 77-0 in the Assembly in March and 38-0 in the Senate on Dec. 18. As no amendments were made in the Senate, it will be sent to Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk for signature. If that happens, it would become effective immediately.
A pivot from focusing on sportsbook partnerships
When it was first introduced two years ago, the proposed legislation had a different focus. The initial version still would have required public institutions of higher education to establish a gambling addiction prevention program, but concentrated on institutions that had a sports wagering partnership with a sportsbook or intermediary.
That specific stipulation was abandoned for the 2025 version and the language was broadened to include every single public higher education institution in the Garden State.
Part of that change is likely that the goalposts have moved. While a spate of partnerships between sports betting companies and schools spread across the state earlier this decade, the trend began to reverse in recent years. In July 2025, Murphy signed a bill that outright bans colleges and universities from signing partnership deals with sports betting companies.
Bills, bills, bills
New Jersey already has restrictions in place, such as blanket bans on wagering on in-state colleges or universities or on college games held in the state. It was also one of the most active states in 2025 in proposing further legislative changes to its gambling industry.
As well as the aforementioned bills relating to schools, lawmakers introduced separate measures to prohibit sports betting advertisementss and to limit how gambling companies can advertise. The latter proposal would not ban all sports betting ads but would outlaw gambling advertising in or close to educational institutions as well as prohibit marketing in any media that “predominantly” targets people aged under 21, among other things.
While those bills did not make much progress in the legislature, another piece of legislation that would ban in-game “micro betting” was discussed in a committee hearing in December and will likely get further play in 2026.
Murphy also signed a ban on dual-currency sweepstakes gaming in August.
