Sweepstakes casinos in New Jersey

PRIMARY-SOURCE NOTE

New Jersey makes a paid sweepstakes entry unlawful gambling, enforced by Consumer Affairs

What the law does

Section 2 of P.L. 2025, c.128, codified at N.J.S.A. 52:17B-139.15, makes it unlawful gambling to offer or conduct a sweepstakes that a person present in New Jersey can enter by paying something of value for a chance at a prize or prize equivalent¹. The definitions cover redeemable virtual tokens and dual currency systems¹. Liability runs to the operator or sponsor and to any officer, employee or agent of either. Section 3 keeps a narrow exception that requires, among other conditions, a free entry route and ties any paid entry to a purchase worth no more than $20 by default¹. Section 5 sets a civil penalty of up to $100,000 for a first offense and up to $250,000 for each later one, with each day counted as a separate offense¹. Consumer Affairs enforces these sections and can order money restored, doubled for a person aged 62 or older¹.

What has happened since

The Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee reported the bill with amendments on May 8, 2025, and those amendments added games that mimic casino play and redeemable virtual tokens to the definitions². The Assembly Appropriations Committee reported the first reprint on June 19, 2025³. The act was approved on August 15, 2025, and its final section says it takes effect immediately¹. That is why the effective date on file, August 15, 2025, is also the approval date. Our New Jersey event history holds a single entry, "A5447 approved (P.L. 2025, c.128): sweepstakes ban", and no order, hearing or court case under the new sections. We record no exit date for any operator here, while 116 of the operators we track are recorded as not accepting players in New Jersey. The fiscal estimate for the bill said the Office of Legislative Services could not predict how often violations would occur or how large the fines would be⁴.

What is still open

The first question is who counts as an agent. Our state record marks affiliate liability as present for New Jersey, yet the section names only the operator or sponsor and their officers, employees and agents, and no agency or court reading in our record says whether a publisher paid per referral is an agent in that sense. The second question is which division acts. The act gives the sweepstakes sections to the Division of Consumer Affairs and leaves sweepstakes out of the new injunction and penalty powers it grants the Division of Gaming Enforcement¹. Our record holds no action by either division under the sweepstakes sections since August 15, 2025, and no rule adopted by Consumer Affairs under the rulemaking power in section 3¹.

Enforcement search

Our tracked event history for New Jersey records only the approval of the act that added the sweepstakes sections. We hold no cease and desist order, administrative penalty, injunction or court ruling brought under those sections since the act took effect.

Question still open

Whether a publisher paid per referral is an agent of the operator under the act, and whether the Division of Consumer Affairs has opened any proceeding or adopted any rule under the sweepstakes sections, is not answered by any record we hold.

Sources for this note

1. P.L. 2025, Chapter 128 (Assembly Bill No. 5447), chapter law as approved (New Jersey Legislature) accessed Sep 28, 2026
2. Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee statement to A5447 with committee amendments, May 8, 2025 (New Jersey Legislature) accessed Sep 28, 2026
3. Assembly Appropriations Committee statement to A5447, first reprint, June 19, 2025 (New Jersey Legislature) accessed Sep 28, 2026
4. Legislative fiscal estimate for A5447, first reprint, June 18, 2025 (Office of Legislative Services) accessed Sep 28, 2026

Sources rechecked 2026-09-28. Next scheduled review 2026-12-28.