ASSEMBLY TOURISM, GAMING AND THE ARTS COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION No. 150
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: SEPTEMBER 14, 2026
The Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee reports favorably Assembly Resolution No. 150.
This resolution urges the prohibition of targeted gambling advertisements to gambling addicts and individuals exhibiting signs of problem gambling.
News reports indicate that professional athletes have been used in personalized gambling advertisements by sports wagering operators and Internet gaming affiliates under VIP marketing programs to encourage individuals to continue betting. In one example of such advertisements, in 2024 an individual who was already experiencing severe financial distress due to his gambling addiction, received a personalized video in which a professional baseball player said “…FanDuel wanted to make sure your Thanksgiving was extra special” and referenced the individual’s son. This video was prepared at the request of the individual’s VIP manager at FanDuel and was intended to entice further gambling by the individual.
The individual who was targeted by this video had reportedly already lost over $1.5 million through the platform, took out several mortgages on his home, and sold shares of his business to fund his addiction. The athlete involved in the video has since stated that he was unaware of the true purpose of the video and would not have participated in making the video had he known. Major League Baseball rules currently allow players to enter endorsement deals with sportsbooks so long as they do not encourage betting on baseball, but there are no rules prohibiting the targeting of known gambling addicts or those who have exhibited signs of problem gambling.
In a recent letter addressed to the Major League Baseball Commissioner and the Interim Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, three members of the United States Congress demanded an immediate end to practices permitting partnerships with sportsbooks operating VIP programs and the cessation of player participation in practices which legitimize programs designed to exploit vulnerable fans. In a written response from FanDuel, the company highlighted several responsible gaming programs employed by the company, but did not directly address the company’s practice of targeting certain patrons with advertisements that include professional athletes or celebrities to encourage continued gambling.
Sportsbooks and other gambling entities in this State have an obligation to ensure that responsible gaming practices are followed. Among the highest priorities of these responsible gaming practices should be ensuring that individuals who are suffering from a gambling addiction, or who have exhibited signs of problem gambling behavior, are provided with every opportunity to stop their harmful behavior. Predatory marketing, including the use of professional athletes or celebrities, which targets certain patrons who are known by sportsbooks and other gambling entities to be gambling addicts, or who have exhibited signs of problem gambling, and encourages them to continue gambling, is antithetical to the goals of responsible gaming and such practices should cease immediately This resolution urges all sports wagering licensees, casino licensees, their contracted operators, and their Internet gaming affiliates in this State to ensure that their VIP programs do not target patrons who are known to be gambling addicts, or who have exhibited signs of problem gambling, with personalized marketing, including the use of professional athletes or celebrities, attempting to induce such patrons to continue gambling. This resolution also urges Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association, and all professional sports leagues and their respective players associations, to reject participation in such targeted VIP marketing programs when directed to vulnerable patrons.