New Jersey Sen. John McKeon pulled no punches when giving his opinion about micro bets at a Monday hearing.
The Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee heard testimony on S 2160 from both sides of the argument, including compulsive gamblers that say micro betting helped drive that issue as well as gaming industry representatives that laid out all the responsible gambling practices they have.
McKeon, the vice chair of the committee, spoke up after hearing about those practices.
“Thank you both. You have a job to do so I don’t mean to be critical of you as individuals but I’m over the top disturbed by all this, truth be told,” McKeon said.
The bill passed after more than an hour of debate by a 4-1 vote and is now awaiting a full Senate vote. New Jersey would be the first to take the step of banning micro bets, which the bill defines as a live prop bet placed on the outcome of the next play.
McKeon: ‘We have created a monster’
McKeon appreciated the data brought by DraftKings about its RG program, including how a staff of more than 50 employees performed 92,000 manual customer reviews in 2025 and more than 44 million messages to visit the RG area of the app where self limits can be set.
Self-exclusion did not impress McKeon, likening it to an alcoholic that swears off drinking after waking up with a hangover only to drink again later after feeling better.
“There’s gotta be, at some point, taking responsibility, there’s gotta be a point for our state to do something about this,” McKeon said. “… This is a problem that this committee should be meeting every other day on relative to what we can do to look out, literally, for the two million people in the state that have been impacted [by problem gambling]. And that’s going to continue to grow.
“… I don’t know if there’s an answer to any of this. We have created a monster. And I’m not suggesting we go back to not allowing sports gaming. But we really, really have to get a handle on this before it’s too late.”
Bill sponsor Sen. Paul Moriarty has similar opinions. He helped bring sports betting to New Jersey and imagined fans at sportsbooks making bets while watching the games and admits he “had no idea how betting would transform.”
Senator: banning micro bets a disadvantage
The lone no vote came from Sen. Vince Polistina, but not because he disagreed with McKeon or any of those showing concerns about micro betting leading to worsening gambling problems.
This is simply not a time when New Jersey can be at a disadvantage in gaming compared to its neighbors, New York and Pennsylvania, Polistina explained. New York recently approved three downstate casinos that will fight for many of the same customers as the casinos in Atlantic City.
“Atlantic City is at a tipping point,” Polistina said. “I mean, you see the headlines on Atlantic City with New York gaming coming and the additional competition. And so it troubles me that we would potentially have people in Atlantic City that would not be able to do things 45 miles away.”
