Under current state law, a person under 21 years old who enters or gambles at a casino can be fined between $500 and $1,000 and is guilty of a disorderly persons offense. Now, new legislation would give courts the discretion to fine violators, require them to go to treatment or both.

The effort by lawmakers to address underage gambling comes as approximately 60% of high school-aged adolescents report having gambled for money during the past year. And 4% to 6% of adolescents have a serious problem with gambling, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling.

New Jersey’s total gambling revenue increased last month by 9.5% over the previous year, but the amount won on-premises by casinos fell by 1.6% to $231.4 million, the Associated Press reported last week.

“It is our hope that this can help to address unhealthy relationships with gambling and prevent kids from becoming repeat offenders,” said Sen. James Beach (D-Burlington), a primary sponsor of the bill.

Internet gambling also a problem

But while advocates have said this legislation is a “good start,” they point out that the bill is just focused on casino gambling.

“Online gambling is just as popular, if not more popular, than in-person, brick-and-mortar casino gambling and definitely much more accessible,” said Felicia Grondin, the executive director for the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey. “And there’s more opportunity for kids to gamble online given the fact that one can hide their identity online.”

Grondin’s group has started a program in New Jersey middle schools and high schools that aims to help kids make smart choices and be aware that those choices could affect their quality of life in the future, Grondin said. The program focuses on risky behaviors, including gambling, she said.

“Given the predominance of gambling in our state and in our country, as well as the excessive advertising, it’s going to affect our kids,” Grondin said. “They will view it as being very, very normal behavior. If they are not advised and educated as to the risks that are involved with gambling, they’re going to wind up in trouble,” she said.

The bill to change penalties for improper gambling in casinos cleared a Senate committee last week unanimously. It is among some of the most recent efforts by lawmakers and state officials to curb problem gambling across the state.

Legislative efforts

In March, lawmakers advanced legislation creating a pilot program for a gambling treatment diversion court. The program aims to help people who have a gambling disorder and who have been convicted of a crime as a result of their gambling. This program would be directed by a mental-health professional and include counseling and support sessions along with referrals to social-service agencies, among other services.

And last month, state officials announced additional efforts to address problematic gambling, including increased access to a self-exclusion program for people struggling with a gambling disorder. The state’s self-exclusion program was created in 2001 to allow people with a gambling problem to voluntarily exclude themselves from gambling in all Atlantic City casinos, according to the state attorney general’s office. In 2013, the program was expanded to also include self-exclusion for internet gaming.

National experts have also said that colleges and universities across the country need to start taking gambling seriously.

“For the most part, universities in the United States have a single line in their student handbook that says something about either you shouldn’t gamble or you may not gamble, but unfortunately there’s no enforcement, there’s no follow up,” said Alan Feldman, a distinguished fellow at the International Gaming Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

“It would be really healthy to do that on college campuses, not only because the universities themselves are signing deals and beginning to engage in benefitting from sports gambling, but the fact is that that’s a very vulnerable audience,” he said.