Can of worms

A bill aimed at fighting gambling addiction that cleared New Jersey’s Assembly this week has instead drawn attention to the state’s stance on partnerships between its colleges and universities and commercial sports betting brands.

“concerned” such partnerships were included in the bill

The Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey’s Executive Director Felicia Grondin said her organization was “concerned” such partnerships were included in Bill A5498.

Bill A5498 passed the Assembly Thursday and requires public colleges and universities partnering with sports betting firms to have a corresponding student gambling addiction prevention program.

The elephant in the room for New Jersey was addressed with relish by Andrew Zimbalist, a professor of economics at Smith College in Massachusetts. Zimbalist stated the whole idea that “a university is in partnership with a sports gambling company is reprehensible.”

Bill draws fire

State lawmakers behind the bill may be surprised at the reactions of Grondin and Zimbalist. Zimbalist argues: “if US 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.”

The New Jersey Spotlight News stated the state Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) “did not immediately respond to a request for information” about any existing partnerships between commercial betting firms and colleges and universities.

No doubt other states will be looking at New Jersey and wondering how the state is interpreting the American Gaming Association’s “Code” update this spring. Rather than expressly forbidding higher learning institutions from partnering with sports betting brands, the updated Code forbids partnerships “unless the content pertains to the promotion and education of responsible gambling.”

19% of young adults aged 18-24 “at high risk for problem gambling”

Recent research has pointed to the need to address problem gambling among New Jersey’s younger strata, with 19% of young adults aged 18-24 “at high risk for problem gambling.”

Even though Bill A5498 sailed through the Assembly 72-1, it still needs Senate approval before the legislature closes early January.

Hotline buzz

One of the standouts of the new bill is a hotline. Spotlight News cited A5498 as stating 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.”

Alan Feldman, the International Gaming Institute’s Distinguished Fellow in Responsible Gaming at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told the publication there was “nothing wrong” with having a hotline, but pointed to a deeper area of concern.

“What’s being done to explain to students that this is, frankly, for most of them, illegal?”