New Jersey Bill Would Strip Sportsbook Bonuses From Players Using Responsible Gambling Tools

A bill advancing in the New Jersey legislature would prohibit online sportsbooks from marketing promotional offers to customers who have activated responsible gambling tools, including self-exclusion programs, deposit limits, time limits, or wagering caps. Assembly Bill 4003 passed the Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee with a unanimous 5-0 vote and now awaits consideration by the full Assembly. Its companion bill, S3420, remains in a Senate committee.

AB4003 was introduced by Assemblymen Dan Hutchison (D-Atlantic), Cody Miller (D-Atlantic), and Michael Venezia (D-Essex). Under the bill, sportsbooks would be prohibited from offering promotional credits, incentives, bonuses, complimentaries, or any similar benefits to any bettor who has signed up for responsible gambling protections with any operator or with the state of New Jersey. Violations would carry a minimum fine of $500 per offense.

The Problem the Bill Is Trying to Solve

The legislation targets a specific dynamic in the regulated sports betting market: the same operator that provides voluntary self-restriction tools to a bettor who wants to control their gambling can simultaneously send that person promotional emails offering bonus bets and deposit matches. Proponents argue this creates a situation where responsible gambling tools are structurally undermined by the very operator offering them. The bill would break that loop by making enrollment in any protective tool an automatic disqualifier for promotional targeting.

Broader Regulatory Trend

New Jersey has consistently been one of the most watched regulatory markets in US sports betting since it launched legal wagering in 2018. Other states typically take notice when significant consumer protection measures pass in Trenton, and AB4003 comes as several other states and Congressional offices are scrutinizing gambling advertising and promotional practices in 2026. For players using New Jersey sportsbooks, the full Assembly vote is the next step for the bill. If it ultimately becomes law, responsible gambling tool users would no longer receive promotional offers from their sportsbooks, a change that advocates argue would make those tools meaningfully more effective.