Earlier this week New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law a measure that bans the state’s colleges and universities from entering into sponsorship deals with sports betting operators. It’s the latest move by a state government to draw more distinct boundaries between the worlds of sports betting and college athletics.
Under the terms of Assembly Bill 4133, New Jersey higher education is barred from working with sports betting operators. The impact of the bill, however, will be less than minimal since none of the state’s colleges or universities currently have any sponsorship deals that would be impacted by the law.
In fact, the number of schools with such partnerships has dwindled considerably since the University of Colorado became the first school to dip its toes in the gambling sponsorship pool back in 2020.
Regardless, New Jersey lawmakers wanted to put the nail in coffin of the practice with the new law. Senator Cryan (D-Union), the chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee explained the rationale behind the bill in a statement reported on by WRJN Radio saying, “The proliferation of sports betting by college students is a troubling trend that can have a destructive impact on their lives,” said. “Young people are especially vulnerable to compulsive gambling and can have a difficult time breaking the habit once it becomes ingrained. This will help protect them from the negative influences of advertisements that promote the practice. Our college campuses should be places for learning, not underage gambling.”
New Jersey has always taken a hard line on protecting college athletics and betting on in-state college sporting events has been banned in New Jersey for many years.