Lawmakers in New Jersey are working to outlaw sportsbooks from "tempting" gullible bettors with bonus offers after they've attempted to use responsible gaming tools.

One of the wealthiest states in the nation for sports betting is New Jersey. Over $12.23 billion was wagered at New Jersey sportsbooks last year, of which $1.17 billion was retained.

Assemblymen Dan Hutchison (D-Atlantic), Cody Miller (D-Atlantic), and Michael Venezia (D-Essex) proposed Assembly Bill 4003 (AB4003) in February, which would forbid online sportsbooks from advertising to clients who have active responsible gaming safeguards. These methods include deposit caps, time or wager limits, and self-exclusion schemes.

Sportsbooks would be fined "not less than $500 per offense" if they were found to be in violation of AB4003's regulations. The state's initiatives or the customer's sportsbook may provide the responsible gaming components.

Bill Overcomes the First Obstacle 

The majority of New Jersey's sports betting is done online. Online oddsmakers accounted for about 96% of the 2025 action, despite the fact that retail sportsbooks may be found at the nine casinos in Atlantic City as well as at the racetracks at Monmouth Park and Meadowlands.

In order to lower their taxable sports wagering revenue, online sportsbooks in New Jersey may deduct promotional play given to bettors, but only for credits totaling more than $12 million a year.

The purpose of the rule is to guaranty that the immediate beneficiaries of promotional play are sports bettors rather than bookmakers. A sportsbook must first pay out $12 million to its clients in order to claim the promotional credit deduction.

However, AB4003 would limit the number of sports bettors who could participate in promotional activities. The Assembly Tourism, Gaming, and Arts Committee unanimously voted 5-0 to approve the proposal last week.

The Assembly floor is currently debating the proposal in its entirety. The 2026 session of the New Jersey Legislature is scheduled to conclude in December.

Not the First Amendment

The last time New Jersey changed its sports betting laws was in 2025. Lawmakers decided to raise the state's share of online sports betting revenue from 13% to 19.75% at the urging of then-Governor Phil Murphy (D).

At the time, Barry Jonas, a gaming analyst at Truist Securities, predicted that operators would bear the increased tax.

“We had expected an operator-friendly compromise and think ~20% is manageable. We also think mitigation can be done via promo reductions alone, with a 50% mitigation in 2026 very reasonable and potentially higher afterwards,” Jonas wrote.

Fine Print for Promo Bet

Sportsbooks offer promotional credits in an effort to maintain bettors' interest in the online platform.

Promotional wagers are frequently "winnings-only" wagers, which means the bettor only receives the net win rather than their initial investment. Additionally, promotional bet credits are usually not immediately redeemable for cash withdrawals; instead, they must be wagered again or a predetermined number of times.

Additionally, deposit matches and promotional and bonus bet credits have expiration dates.

Since marketing is essential to both client acquisition and retention as well as bettor loyalty, promotional bets are a crucial component of a sportsbook's operations.