New Jersey boosts gambling ad standards, hires RG coordinator

New Jersey remains one of the biggest hubs for gambling in the United States. Results have been inching up month-over-month with the pandemic recovery accelerating. In the latest upswing, the state has decided to step up its efforts and make sure that consumers are sufficiently protected.

Speaking at the East Coast Gaming Congress last Thursday, New Jersey state Attorney General Matthew Platkinintroduced a new set of rules that will seek to bolster responsible gambling regulations and initiatives in the Garden State.

Essentially, these measures would seek to adjust gambling regulations in the state in a way that sets advertising standards that, in turn, will assist people who may be suffering from excessive gambling or have issues with their gambling, to exclude themselves from casinos as well as from marketing inducements.

The measures will also seek to take stock of how efficient New Jersey is being in protecting consumers in the first place by monitoring the efforts put in to help vulnerable and at-risk consumers. The first thing that the AG wants to do with the help of the state is to establish a golden standard for casino and sports betting advertising.

All gambling firms would now have to display 1-800 GAMBLER, Garden State’s problem gambling helpline, in a prominent position that makes it easier for consumers to seek help if they need to. The measures also address another hot topic – the language of "risk-free" and "guaranteed" wins, something that has been the focus of regulatory action in other states.

In brief, New Jersey will require all companies to ditch this language as it’s misleading and could lead to consumer harm. Advertisements will be a key factor in these new consumer protection changes, as ads must now not appear in places or through channels that would make them accessible to those under the age of 21, which is the legal gambling age in New Jersey.

Platkin explained that the measures were a response to the state’s growing and maturing industry, which now meant that New Jersey had to fulfil its obligations in assisting consumers to steer away from problem gambling.

"[These measures] will help protect consumers and make it easier for individuals to access the help they need when their gaming behavior becomes problematic," Platkin said.

To ensure that these measures are applied moving forward, a responsible gaming coordinator would be hired. This coordinator, who themselves would be an experienced attorney, would work directly with the gamingenforcement director and will primarily focus on spotting deficiencies in the state’s responsible gambling framework.

New Jersey rolled out a program ahead of February’s Super Bowl, seeking to collect data and potentially spot and analyze problem gambling behavior by utilizing betting app data.

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