New Jersey became the sixth state this calendar year to pass legislation banning online casino sweepstakes Monday when Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese’s bill easily passed through both chambers.

Calabrese’s bill, A5447, had the backing of the state’s Attorney General’s Office and the Sports Betting Alliance. It passed in the lower chamber by a 69-10 vote with one abstention before being transmitted to the Senate, where it was substituted for S4282.

There, the upper chamber voted 34-5 with one abstention in favor without any debate on the floor. The bill now goes to Gov. Phil Murphy for either his signature or veto.

Nevada, Montana, and Connecticut have already signed bills into law banning online sweepstakes gaming. Louisiana legislators passed an anti-sweeps bill in unanimous fashion, but Gov. Jeff Landry vetoed the measure, citing confidence in the state’s gaming board to combat illegal online gaming.

New York legislators passed similar legislation June 18, and state Sen. Joseph Addabbo’s bill has yet to be delivered to Gov. Kathy Hochul.

A request to table the bill goes unheeded

Assemblyman Gerry Schafenberger rose in hopes of getting Calabrese to consider tabling his bill, saying “we’re missing a great opportunity for possibly some additional revenue with this bill, so I would encourage maybe to re-look at this bill and see if we can’t come to a better outcome that won’t deny the same possible revenue.”

Interestingly, Calabrese had submitted a bill earlier this legislative session looking to regulate online sweepstakes casino operators similar to how the Division of Gaming Enforcement oversees online casino gaming. He formally withdrew the bill in April as New Jersey joined Connecticut as states with regulated iGaming to pass legislation banning sweeps this year.

The Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA), joined by the world’s largest sweepstakes operator VGW as well as B-Two Operations and the World Poker Tour, submitted testimony Friday in opposition to Calabrese’s bill and its companion legislature in the Senate.

“These proposals seek to eliminate a popular form of digital entertainment enjoyed by millions of Americans and based on a model used legally for decades by trusted consumer brands,” said Jeff Duncan, SGLA executive director and former U.S. congressman, in a statement. “This is not gambling — it’s marketing. Our partners operate free-to-play games with strong consumer protections and legally compliant promotional sweepstakes structures.

“The current proposal would not only disrupt our industry, but would undermine standard promotional tools used by countless New Jersey businesses,” he added. “Even the New Jersey Office of Legislative Services has warned about the bill’s vague language and potential constitutional issues.”

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