Call for Unified Gambling Rules in New Jersey

The New Jersey Governor’s Task Force on Responsible Gambling has released its 2025 report, offering a sweeping set of recommendations aimed at reforming the state’s approach to responsible gambling. Centered on improving public health outcomes, the report prioritizes access, consistency, and increased investment in education and treatment resources.

The report, made public on April 21, outlines a series of structural reforms and policy shifts that would streamline how residents interact with gambling safeguards. At its core, the task force is advocating for a standardized system that treats all forms of legal gambling in New Jersey—casinos, sports betting, online platforms, and amusement games—with a consistent regulatory touch.

Fragmented Landscape Spurs Call for Reform

A central concern identified in the report is the inconsistency between gambling sectors. Currently, only some licensees—such as casino and sports wagering operators—must commission annual impact studies on their businesses. Others, including operators of amusement and online games, face no such requirement.

These disparities extend to Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols and minimum age requirements. The task force argues that such gaps create confusion for consumers and prevent regulators from gaining a full picture of gambling’s impact across the state. To address these inconsistencies, the task force urges the state to adopt universal standards across advertising, compliance, and consumer protections.

Perhaps the most direct proposal to improve public health outcomes is the recommendation to consolidate all responsible gambling tools and information into a single, state-managed online platform. The task force notes that some tools are currently accessible only through customer service representatives, while others are available online, creating what it calls “inconsistencies in user experience and tool accessibility.”

The report also calls for the creation of a universal self-exclusion program. Under the proposed model, individuals would be able to bar themselves from all forms of legal gambling in the state with a single registration—replacing the current patchwork of exclusion programs for different gaming sectors. Additionally, the task force recommends mandatory counseling sessions for those wishing to end their self-exclusion period.
A New Governing Body: URGE

To support and evaluate these proposed changes, the task force suggests the establishment of a permanent oversight body called URGE—Unified Responsible Gambling Evaluation Board. This board would be tasked with:

 

Recommending regulatory reforms

• Assessing how funding for responsible gambling programs is allocated and used
• Advising the legislature on further improvements
• Determining eligibility for state funding of responsible gambling initiatives
• Conducting statewide studies on gambling behavior and needs

URGE would also potentially play a role in distributing new educational and financial resources, should the legislature approve increased funding. To strengthen support for treatment and prevention programs, the task force proposes shifting money currently funneled into New Jersey’s General Fund through gambling assessments into designated responsible gambling initiatives. It also calls for an increase in penalties for regulatory violations related to “amusement games,” which could serve as a new funding stream.

The report does not specify the exact financial requirements for its proposals but emphasizes that resource expansion is essential if the state is to meet its responsible gambling goals.

 

The Future

With the task force’s recommendations now in the hands of Governor Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Legislature, attention turns to how the state’s leadership will respond. While past years have seen incremental progress in responsible gambling efforts, the 2025 report frames the coming months as a critical moment for structural reform.

Should Murphy and lawmakers act, the state could soon become a national model for comprehensive, uniform, and accessible gambling protections. Left unaddressed, however, the current disparities and resource gaps may continue to undermine New Jersey’s public health safeguards in the fast-evolving gaming landscape.