New Jersey lawmakers reduce igaming extension period with new amendment
Garden State Assembly committee tables revised proposal cutting 10-year window to just two years
New Jersey Assembly Committee members have introduced an amendment to the state’s proposed extension of igaming legalization from 10 years to just two years.
The amendment was made by the Assembly’s budget committee, which has been debating Assembly bill 2190 since June 22, following an earlier reading and passage by a separate committee, the Assembly Appropriations Committee, which has debated the legislation since June 8.
The bill has previously been considered by the Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee, which voted 7-0 in favor of passage, the Assembly State and Local Government Committee, which voted 5-0 to pass the bill, and the aforementioned Appropriations Committee, which voted 11-0.
Assembly bill 2190, and its companion Senate bill 3075, have been making their way through the New Jersey legislature since December 2022, as part of the Garden State’s plans to extend its allowance of igaming beyond the 10-year initial period envisioned in 2013, which expires in November.
Details of the amendment have not been released to the public, with the bill now passing for a second reading.
The amendment to two years from 10 has led to criticism from local stakeholders including Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey (CCSNJ) president and CEO Christina M Renna, who questioned the impact on the state’s igaming and sports betting market.
“The CCSNJ is extremely disappointed that the New Jersey General Assembly proposed a drastic amendment to A-2190 which would impact the reauthorization timeline for internet gaming,” Renna said.
“As originally written, this legislation would have extended online gaming for another 10-year period through 2033. However, without warning or explanation, an amendment was proposed that changed the reauthorization to a mere two-year period ending in 2025.”
Renna continued: “It is undeniable that online betting has been a boon for New Jersey, as well as the state’s casinos. In order for this level of success to continue, the industry needs stability, which is an impossibility if the state has the ability to withdraw its operating authorization on a two-year basis.
“What company will want to make, or continue to make, long-term investments in sports betting if every two years the industry is at risk of losing its operating capability?
“The CCSNJ implores Assembly Speaker [Craig] Coughlin and all members of the Legislature to reconsider today’s amendments and return A-2190 to its original form,” Renna added.
New Jersey’s legalization of igaming was a watershed moment in the push not only towards expanding the vertical into the US but also the wider introduction of sports betting into the market, with the Garden State the chief instigator of the lawsuit which eventually repealed PASPA in 2018.
The Garden State is one of just seven states to legalize igaming, with West Virginia, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and most recently Rhode Island all following its lead.
Fiscal estimates released as part of A-2190 claim the state could make up to $170m in financial year 2024, rising to $305.1m in 2025 and $320.2m in 2026 from the extension.