With less than a week until Election Day, New Jersey voters will not only be voting to keep or elect a new Governor, but on a ballot question that would expand sports betting within the state.
In mid-June, the state Assembly passed SCR133 – with Assembly Concurrent Resolution 200 – to allow sports betting on in-state college teams and in-state college tournaments and events by a vote of 70-4, which would expand New Jersey gambling options.
State residents will cast their votes on the Nov. 2 referendum, voting yes or no on this question:
Do you approve amending the Constitution to permit wagering through casinos and current or former horse racetracks on all college sport or athletic events that are held in the State?
September Poll Data Favors a No Vote
In September, a poll of 552 potential voters, conducted by Stockton University’s William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy, showed that 45% (250) opposed a constitutional amendment that would allow NJ sports betting on college games held in the state or games involving state college teams.
Forty percent (223) supported the measure, 14% (76) were still undecided and 1% (3) refused to even answer the question.
New Jersey has had legal sports betting since 2018 and residents can wager on college sports on teams and events that are not located or held in New Jersey.
One huge event coming to the Garden State that could affect bettors (if the measure is not passed) will occur in March 2025. The NCAA selected the home of Seton Hall University men’s basketball – Prudential Center (The Rock) – in downtown Newark to host the Men’s Basketball East Regional.
The event marks the return of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament to Prudential Center for the first time since 2011, when No. 4 Kentucky defeated No. 2 North Carolina in the East Regional Final.
New Jersey has numerous college teams and regularly hosts tournament events.
The state has three programs in football: Monmouth, Princeton and Rutgers. Those three universities are also home to NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball programs, plus five others have DI hoops: Seton Hall, Saint Peter’s, Rider, Fairleigh Dickinson and the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).
