{"id":14211,"date":"2024-12-17T10:00:42","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T10:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/?p=14211"},"modified":"2024-12-17T11:51:07","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T11:51:07","slug":"new-jersey-could-decriminalize-underage-gambling-reducing-punishment-to-a-fine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/new-jersey-could-decriminalize-underage-gambling-reducing-punishment-to-a-fine\/","title":{"rendered":"NJ Could Decriminalize Underage Gambling, Reducing Punishment to a Fine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/teenage-gambling.jpg\" alt=\"Teenage Gambling\" width=\"300\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-12675\" title=\"NJ Could Decriminalize Underage Gambling, Reducing Punishment to a Fine\" \/><strong>Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>New Jersey could reclassify underage gambling from a criminal offense to a civil offense. <\/li>\n<li>A proposed bill approved by the Assembly would replace charges with fines between $500 and $2,000. <\/li>\n<li>The money would reach support programs for education, prevention, and treatment of gambling addiction.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Legislators are currently considering a significant shift in the way <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/us\/states\/new-jersey\">New Jersey<\/a> handles underage gambling violations. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pub.njleg.gov\/Bills\/2024\/S3500\/3246_I1.pdf\">S3246<\/a> proposes that <strong>gambling by individuals under 21 be treated as a civil offense rather than a criminal offense<\/strong>, replacing potential criminal charges with fines.<\/p>\n<h2>Fines Would Go to Support Organizations <\/h2>\n<p>The proposed legislation also introduces penalties for those who facilitate underage gambling in the Garden State. <\/p>\n<p>The fines for offenders would be structured progressively: <strong>$500 for a first violation, $1,000 for a second, and $2,000 for any further offenses<\/strong>. <\/p>\n<p>Revenue from these fines would be directed toward programs focusing on education, prevention, and treatment of gambling addiction. <\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/800gambler.org\"><strong>Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey<\/strong><\/a> (CCGNJ), which has already helped a large number of people recover from disordered gambling since its inception four decades ago, would be one of the main beneficiaries of the funding.<\/p>\n<p>The CCGNJ worked together with government agencies and populations at risk, including older adults and youth, to highlight problems and provide \u201c<em>support, treatment, and hope<\/em>\u201d while \u201c<em>maintaining a neutral position on gambling and encouraging individuals to gamble responsibly<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position:relative;height:0;padding-bottom:56.25%\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kKToQDRL2ZQ?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0?ecver=2\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;left:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Change of Heart for Skeptical Voices <\/h2>\n<p>As expected, only some people agree with the proposal. Atlantic City\u2019s former mayor and Republican assemblyman <strong>Don Guardian<\/strong> was initially skeptical about softening the legal consequences. <\/p>\n<p>However, the allocation of fines toward treatment initiatives helped change his stance. <\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>The concern I had initially was about reducing the severity of the punishment<\/em>\u201d Guardian explained. However, the fact that all the money would reach problem gambling treatment programs helped change his mind.<\/p>\n<p>The issue of underage gambling is gaining attention as more young people engage in betting, particularly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/sports-betting\">sports wagering<\/a>, which has grown nationwide. <\/p>\n<p>While exact figures on underage gambling offenses are not available, experts in addiction recovery constantly report increases in youth participation.<\/p>\n<h2>CCGNJ Offers Conditional Support<\/h2>\n<p>The CCGNJ has expressed conditional support for the bill but also raised a series of reservations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Luis Del Orbe<\/strong>, the council\u2019s acting executive director, welcomed the funding for treatment and education but stressed the need for mandatory educational initiatives. <\/p>\n<p>He raised the question of the persons who would pay the fines for underage players, highlighting the <strong>potential issue of parental responsibility<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement to the Assembly, the council warned of rising challenges, speaking of the larger and larger number of New Jersey citizens who \u201c<em>need help due to the ongoing expansion of gambling opportunities<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Anticipating a growing demand, the council expressed the urgent need \u201c<em>for expanded education and awareness about the harms that can come of gambling, particularly with respect to youth.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If passed, the bill that has already been approved by the Assembly committee and has been moved to the full Assembly for a vote will go to Governor Phil Murphy\u2019s desk for final approval.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary: New Jersey could reclassify underage gambling from a criminal offense to a civil offense. A proposed bill approved by the Assembly would replace charges with fines between $500 and $2,000. The money would reach support programs for education, prevention, and treatment of gambling addiction. Legislators are currently considering a significant shift in the way [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2,3,8,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-casino","category-legislation","category-poker","category-sports","category-usa"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>NJ Could Decriminalize Underage Gambling, Reducing Punishment to a Fine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"New Jersey lawmakers are considering a bill to decriminalize gambling under 21 and turn it into a civil offense, replacing criminal charges with fines.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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