College Sports Betting for State Games to Be Decided by New Jersey Voters

The expansion of college sports betting is one of the two constitutional amendments to be decided on by the voters of New Jersey come the 2nd of November. A measure that is directed at the allowance of college sports competitions to carry on postseason wagering, all thanks to the ballot. This is for the competitions scheduled to be held in New Jersey, which sees participation from a New Jersey college team. Sports betting is permitted by the state constitution, which excludes the New Jersey games and the games that have college teams representing New Jersey. The expansion of sports betting will see the inclusion of college sports competitions across all postseason subject to a clause. The clause dictates non-profit collegiate athletic associations to sanction the game. The ballot would ensure the same.

24th of June saw the state Assembly approves the constitutional amendment. The state Senate sanctioned the constitutional amendment 21 days prior, which was on the 3rd of June. The constitutional amendment was referred to the ballot by Democrats and thirty-six of the forty-three Republicans. Sports betting across New Jersey was allowed through a constitutional amendment by the voters back in 2011. This excluded the sporting events of colleges held in New Jersey or involved any team representing New Jersey. The state and casinos across Atlantic City allowed in-person bets, telephonic bets, and bets through the usage of the internet on the racetracks. The implementation of the constitutional amendment for sports betting was blocked after NCAA, NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB, together with the then-Governor, Chris Christie, voiced their opinion on stopping the same.

The federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was stated to be violated by the Sports Wagering Act as corroborated by the NCAA. One that ensured the prohibition of the states from participating in sports betting. The 14th of May saw the Supreme Court of the U.S. ruling a 7-2 dictating that the federal government cannot necessitate states to prohibit sports betting. New Jersey saw authorization of sports betting in June 2018. The legalization of sports betting has seen thirty states along with D.C. passing laws post Christie v. NCAA. The usage of ballot measures legalized sports betting across Arkansas, Maryland, Colorado, and South Dakota. A ballot initiative by California voters is set to seal the fate of the legalization of sports betting across the American Indian gaming casinos. The list also includes the licensed racetracks.

Thirty-five constitutional amendments featured in New Jersey ballots from 1995 to 2020, which saw a whopping 91 percent being approved by the voters. This period in New Jersey saw the appearance of one constitutional amendment to be averaging for the odd year general election ballots. Additionally, the ballot saw two constitutional amendments to be referred by the legislature as of the 24th of June 2021. General obligation bond issues are also included in the list of being referred by the legislature.