NJ AG and gaming regulators implement data-driven RG operator requirements

• New Jersey and DGE team up to hold operators to new, more demanding criteria on protecting consumers
• Using data, due diligence, and at-risk lists, operators must ensure that they intervene early when even signs of potential problems begin
• Operators will appoint a specific person to oversee the new RG measures

New Jersey Attorney GeneralJennifer Davenport has teamed up with state gaming regulators in order to introduce and implement data-driven responsible gaming criteria for online operators to comply with.

New RG rules seek to strengthen consumer safeguards

During a news conference on Tuesday, October 20, Davenport explained that these measures were meant to strengthen player protection and translate into real results, including how operators detect and intervene in the case of suspected problem gamblers.

Davenport said that clear and consistent criteria must be implemented in order to identify problem gambling and that operators must be held accountable for upholding these rules.

The attorney general similarly pointed out that gambling was omnipresent in the Garden State, but that the state should do better when it comes to player protections.

Besides introducing the new measures focused on strengthening problem gambling safeguards, Davenport took a moment to talk about prediction markets, which she maintained were operating outside the state’s gaming laws, and has urged intervention from the Supreme Court of the United States:

"That’s why it’s so problematic that Kalshi claims to offer legal sports betting in all 50 states, but refuses to follow state gaming laws. That’s why we’re asking the U.S. Supreme Court to look at this question and hold that prediction markets are subject to state gaming laws."

As to the implementation of the new responsible gambling efforts, each operator will have to task a designated person to oversee the implementation of the requirements, a responsible gambling lead, as it were.

Operators must introduce play thresholds and follow up on behavioral triggers to identify patrons who may need support. The licensees would have to engage in due diligence in cases where patrons show signs of problem gambling or the potential to develop gambling-related harm, adding such people to the operator’s dedicated "at-risk" list.

Operators should not wait until a problem emerges - but act preemptively and proactively

This was further clarified by Division of Gaming Enforcement Responsible Gaming Coordinator, Jamie McKelvey, who explained that even without problematic behavior, these early signs, the due diligence, and heightened supervision could prevent a person’s further slippage into problem gambling.

"The goal is to identify concerning behavior and assess the individual circumstances before determining what intervention, if any, is appropriate," McKelvey explained.

"At the highest level, phase three, interventions require live communication between the responsible gaming lead and the patron. These communications are intended to ensure meaningful individualized communication with patrons exhibiting strong indicators of problematic play," she added.

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