A bill that would forbid sports wagering licensees from making or taking microbets has been heard by New Jersey legislators. In July, Assemblyman Dan Hutchison presented Bill A5971.
According to the bill, a micro bet is a live proposition wager on the result of the next play or action during a sporting event. A disorderly person’s offense and a fine of $500 to $1,000 per incident await those who violate the restriction.
Hutchison told the hearing:
What these companies want is for you to bet as frequently as physically or financially possible. Yesterday, I’m listening to one ad on the radio, and the little caveat at the end said you have to place 50 bets per day, something like that. It’s these types of enticements that are attracting people.
Speaking on behalf of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey (CCGNJ), Jean Swain said:
Recent conversations with young people reveal that the allure of in-game betting and having skin in the game increasingly influences their engagement with sports or sports betting. These high-frequency wagers from every player action can trigger instant dopamine releases in the brain’s reward system, fostering compulsive behaviors that can develop into serious addiction.
The Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) was represented by Zachary Khan. According to him, microbetting is “one of the more effective tools” available to operators and regulators.
He said:
Microbets account for a small share of overall wagering, but they generate highly granular real-time data. Pitch-by-pitch wagers and other micro bets often provide the earliest indicators of suspicious activity, because irregular patterns stand out immediately.
Phil Murphy, the governor of New Jersey, put a measure into law in July that forbids sportsbook operators from collaborating with the state’s public universities.
