For Sports Betting Enthusiasts in the Garden State, The Stakes Are High This Election Day.

Added to the ballot after overwhelming support from New Jersey lawmakers, a constitutional amendment will be voted on this Tuesday, November 2, that would expand college sports betting in the state.

State officials would like to see the law changed before the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament reaches the Prudential Center in Newark, also known as The Rock. Otherwise, NJ sportsbooks won’t be able to take any March Madness bets on the games played at The Rock, regardless of the teams playing - a large loss of potential revenue, not to mention enjoyment for NJ bettors.

Lawmakers may be in the minority however, according to two recent polls from Stockton and Fairleigh Dickinson Universities. The Stockton poll, which surveyed 552 people in September of this year, found that 51% of voters are against the expansion of college sports betting in NJ, with just 37% in favor. And, according to the Fairleigh Dickinson poll taken earlier in the summer, a large reason for this opposition lies in voter unfamiliarity and uncertainty.

The issues addressed in the amendment are not highly controversial, which one might assume means it would warrant more public support. Instead, the lack of controversy has led to a lack of media attention, and in turn, a lack of public awareness. Compounding the issue, voters can expect to gain little clarity the ballot box on Tuesday, as the ballot question itself is verbose and difficult to understand. With little discussion of the amendment beforehand or on Election Day, voters could more easily dismiss or misunderstand exactly what is being proposed. Nor do many voters have an awareness of the current prohibitive laws against college sports betting, or the potential benefits the state could reap by changing them.

Another possible bump in the road to college sports betting freedom are the state’s political voting trends. For the most part, more affluent and conservative voters from older generations tend to vote more than others in off-year elections. Unfortunately, this same group of voters are also the ones least likely to vote in-favor on gambling related matters.

In short, the expansion of college sports betting in New Jersey on Nov 2nd is not a safe bet. Instead, lawmakers will likely be putting the amendment back on the ballot in 2023, and NJ sports bettors will have to continue traveling to other states to bet on their own teams for now…at least until the odds are more stacked in their favor.