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New Jersey lawmakers are again pushing to replace criminal penalties for underage gambling at Atlantic City casinos with civil fines, reviving a debate over whether a criminal record fits the offense.
Sen. Jim Beach, D-Camden, has spent four years trying to make the change. His latest proposal, Senate Bill 597, was filed in January and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee in late September. Two Democrats and two Republicans have signed on as cosponsors.
What New Jersey’s SB597 would change
Under current law, gambling while under 21 at a casino or simulcast facility is a disorderly persons offense. It carries a fine of $500 to $1,000 and is a low-level offense on the person’s record. A civil penalty would not create a record, which can affect employment, housing and education.
The bill would create a tiered fine system. A first offense would draw a fine of up to $500, a second up to $1,000 and any later offense up to $2,000. The penalties would apply to Atlantic City casinos, simulcast facilities and their sportsbooks.
Casinos would keep an existing defense. It applies when an underage person falsely claims in writing to be of legal age, looks old enough and the casino acted in good faith.
The bill also targets people other than underage gamblers. The same civil penalties would apply to casino licensees and employees who knowingly let someone under 21 stay or gamble, News 12 New Jersey reported. Adults who knowingly allow someone in their care to gamble would be covered, too.
Fine revenue would fund gambling treatment
Under SB597, fines would go into the state General Fund. The Legislature would then appropriate the money to the Department of Human Services for compulsive gambling prevention, education and treatment programs.
That provision has swayed lawmakers before. During debate over a similar bill last session, one legislator said that directing the money to treatment programs changed his mind, the AP reported. Programs run by the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey were cited as an example of what the money could support.
Bill awaits Senate Judiciary Committee review
Sen. Kristin Corrado, R-Caldwell, one of the bill’s cosponsors, serves on the Judiciary Committee. No hearing or vote has been publicly reported.
Lawmakers are scheduled to stay in session until Dec. 17, when the 2026 term ends, Casino.org reported. New Jersey is one of only five states whose legislatures are still meeting, the outlet said.
Assembly passed a similar bill in 2025
The proposal has advanced before. A companion bill cleared an Assembly committee in December 2024, the AP reported. The full Assembly approved it in January 2025 with 73 yes votes, and it went to a Senate committee the next month. It did not become law.
The Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey offered conditional support for that version. Luis Del Orbe, then the council’s acting executive director, welcomed the added treatment funding, the AP reported. But he argued that fines alone are not enough without a mandatory problem gambling education requirement.
Casinos must keep minors off the floor
Casinos remain legally responsible for keeping underage patrons out. Under the New Jersey Casino Control Act, only people 21 and older may enter Atlantic City casinos, Casino.org reported. Security staff check identification at entrances and monitor gaming floors, and are often told to check anyone who appears to be 30 or younger.
Those checks are not foolproof, and increasingly realistic fake IDs have made enforcement harder. The Division of Gaming Enforcement handles violations. Its largest underage gambling penalty was a $157,500 fine against Bally’s in November 2008, after regulators found the casino had repeatedly let an underage woman gamble.
Borgata held the previous record, a $105,000 penalty in February 2008.
What happens next for NJ’s SB597
SB597 remains in the early stages, and it must clear the Judiciary Committee before it can advance. If it passes in its current form, civil fines would replace criminal charges for underage gambling, and the money would go to treatment programs.
With the Legislature set to adjourn in December, Beach and his cosponsors have limited time to move it.
