New Jersey Assembly Advances Bill to Ban Online Microbetting While Keeping It Legal at Casinos

New Jersey has taken a significant step toward restricting one of the fastest-growing formats in sports betting. A bill advanced by an Assembly committee this week would ban microbetting on online platforms and mobile apps, while still allowing the same wagers at physical casino floors and licensed racetracks, including those in Atlantic City. The proposal is now positioned for a full-chamber vote, with industry observers watching closely given New Jersey’s history as a regulatory bellwether for the national sports betting market.

Microbetting refers to in-game wagering on extremely short-interval outcomes — the result of a single pitch, one play from scrimmage, or a single possession in basketball. Unlike traditional live betting, which typically centers on game-level or half-level outcomes, microbetting creates hundreds or thousands of individual market opportunities within a single game. The speed and volume of these markets have drawn growing scrutiny from regulators and public health researchers who argue the format carries addiction risks beyond those associated with conventional wagering.

The Split Approach

The bill’s most notable feature is its differentiation between digital and physical wagering environments. An amendment adopted during committee deliberations preserved microbetting at in-person locations while targeting mobile platforms specifically. Supporters argue that the environment of a physical casino provides natural friction — travel time, social setting, face-to-face interactions with staff — that can interrupt the compulsive cycle more readily than an app available on a phone at any moment of the day.

Opponents of the bill, including some in the regulated gaming industry, counter that a partial ban is likely to push online bettors toward offshore, unregulated platforms where consumer protections are absent entirely. New Jersey’s sports betting market generated more than $1 billion in handle during several months of 2025, and operators argue that restricting popular features will erode the market share of licensed books without meaningfully reducing microbetting activity overall.

If the bill passes both chambers and receives the governor’s signature, operators found violating the restriction would face financial penalties ranging from several hundred dollars to $1,000 per offense. The legislation does not specify whether penalties apply to each individual wager offered in violation or each session during which prohibited markets were accessible.

A Broader Regulatory Moment

The New Jersey proposal is part of a broader wave of legislative attention to how online sports betting products are designed, particularly features that regulators believe increase engagement at the expense of player welfare. New Jersey has simultaneously advanced a separate bill that would bar sportsbooks from offering promotions or bonuses to players who enroll in responsible gambling programs — a restriction that cleared a committee vote unanimously.

For bettors using New Jersey sportsbooks, the immediate outlook is uncertain. The bill must still clear the full Assembly, pass the Senate, and earn the governor’s signature before becoming law. Operators like DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM — all of which offer live in-game markets in the state — are expected to engage heavily in the legislative process before the session ends. The definition of microbetting has not been finalized in the legislation, and where regulators draw the line between standard live betting and prohibited microbetting will be a central point of debate.

New Jersey pioneered the legal sports betting landscape in the United States through its successful Supreme Court challenge in 2018. A decision to restrict microbetting in the nation’s most closely watched sports betting market would mark a meaningful shift — from a state defined by aggressive expansion of legal wagering to one wrestling with the limits and responsibilities that come with a fully mature market.