Sweepstakes casinos and proxy sports betting are officially verboten in the Garden State.
- New Jersey Assembly Bill 5447 was signed into law by Governor Murphy.
- The law criminalizes rigging sports events, betting with insider information, using another person’s betting account, and proxy betting involving over $1,000.
- Some industry advocates argue the sweeps measures are overly broad and could harm legal promotional sweepstakes.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed Assembly Bill 5447 into law on Friday.
That means the crackdown in New Jersey on sweepstakes casinos, illegal iGaming, and proxy sports betting is officially on.
Welp, it's a Friday in the summer, which is obviously busy season for news. Here, now, is New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announcing he's signed the state's anti-sweepstakes bill into law: pic.twitter.com/s0UihmIH7f
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) August 15, 2025
A5447 prohibits sweepstakes gambling in New Jersey, defining it as "a promotional, advertising, or marketing event, contest, or game, whether played online or in-person, in which something of value, such as a prize or prize equivalent, is awarded, either directly or indirectly through means such as a dual-currency system of payment that allows a participant to exchange the currency for a prize or prize equivalent."
While there are exceptions that would allow a sweeps game to avoid the ban, they are very specific.
For example, a sweeps game would not be deemed illegal gambling if it can show there is a way people can play at no cost. Moreover, any monetary entry fee would have to be tied to the purchase of food, non-alcoholic drinks, or non-coin merchandise that is less than $20 or another amount set by regulators. The odds of winning any prizes would have to be identical for free and paid entries as well.
The new law gives New Jersey sports betting regulators the ability to obtain injunctive relief to stop sweeps from operating, and to hit operators with fines of $100,000 for first offenders and $250,000 for subsequent violations.
The anti-sweeps legislation forms part of a broader effort by New Jersey lawmakers to tighten up the state's iGaming market, which is hotly contested by operators that are both state-regulated and otherwise. Similar legislation has passed in several other states this year, such as Connecticut.
Murphy's signing of the anti-sweeps law also follows New Jersey lawmakers recently agreeing to ratchet up the tax on iGaming and online sports betting operators to 19.75%.
No sweeps, no 'swindling'
Yet sweeps are not the only entities that could face a shellacking now that A5447 is law.
The legislation makes it a third-degree crime to operate an unlicensed “online gambling resort,” which is defined as “a website or application accessed via the Internet or other computer or mobile connection to which persons may resort for engaging in gambling activity.”
Another curious passage expands the definition of gambling to cover “the buying, selling, or trading something of value upon an agreement or understanding that the actor will receive something of value in the event of a certain outcome in a contest of chance.”
Although the section does not specifically mention the sports event contracts of prediction markets, federally regulated or otherwise, New Jersey is one of several states seeking to shut down the de facto sports wagering offered by Kalshi and other exchanges.
The new law also expands the definition of illegally "rigging" events to include sports as well, making it a crime to bribe and accept bribes in connection with fixing games and performances.
Furthermore, the bill updates the state's laws against "swindling or cheating" to include prohibitions against making a sports bet with inside information or using someone else's gambling account to make bets.
In addition, "proxy betting" is now explicitly illegal, wherein someone bets $1,000 or more while agreeing to pay someone else 10% or more of the proceeds. Anyone caught doing that could be found guilty of a disorderly persons offense in the state, unless they have sole control over the wager being made.
This would have the effect of driving betting liquidity out of NJ (into the unreg market) at the same time the state is trying to raise more tax revenue by increasing the rate to 19.75% GGR (from 13%) (@OLS_LegInfo)
— Joe Brennan Jr (@joebrennanjr) June 30, 2025
While New Jersey lawmakers are seeking to protect the state’s licensed sportsbooks and iGaming sites from unauthorized competition, and to limit shenanigans among bettors and participants in sporting events, the new law was not beloved by everyone.
For instance, the sweeps-focused Social and Promotional Games Association said in March that A5447 “seeks to outlaw promotional sweepstakes platforms that are already legal, do not require purchase to play, and are enjoyed responsibly by millions of adults across the country.”
Joe Brennan Jr., co-founder of Prime Sportsbook and a board member for the advocacy group American Bettors' Voice, had warned on social media that the legislation “would have the effect of driving betting liquidity” out of New Jersey and into the unregulated market.
“The language is so broad, it could make @JasonKelce guilty of ‘swindling & cheating’ when he gives his pick on his @nfl pregame show,” Brennan posted on Twitter/X in June.
