Following a joint committee hearing on online sports betting, a New Jersey state senator warned lawmakers must urgently address the state’s growing gambling crisis.
“While the legalization of sports betting has clearly been an economic windfall, the testimony we heard on the human cost is staggering. An estimated 200,000 New Jerseyans are grappling with gambling addiction, some starting as young as seven years old, and the problem only seems to be intensifying,” state Sen. John McKeon, D-Essex/Passaic, said in an announcement.
According to Felicia Grondin, the executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, while 1% to 3% of adults nationwide are problem gamblers, the figure in New Jersey stands at 6%.
The Rutgers University Center for Gambling Studies’ 2023 Prevalence Report also highlighted that online gambling is most popular among young adults aged 18 to 24 and is growing in popularity. In 2017, 7% of this age group preferred online betting, a number that surged to 33.3% in 2023.
Overall, 90% of all sports bets in New Jersey are placed online.
“The dangers of such easy access to gambling mirror the widespread cigarette use of past decades — it, too, is a public health crisis. Gambling addiction disrupts the rhythms of daily life, sabotaging jobs, relationships, and financial stability,” McKeon said. “We know better now and must do better for our communities.”