New Jersey Ballot Question Includes Expanded College Sports Betting. Will it Pass?

New Jersey Ballot Question Includes Expanded College Sports Betting. Will it Pass? article feature image
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Benjamin Solomon/Getty Images. Pictured: The Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

New Jersey has become the U.S. sports betting capitol in some ways. It battled the leagues all the way to the Supreme Court to kickstart this revolution, and became the first state to take $1 billion in bets in a single month.

However, betting on college teams and events in the state has always been prohibited. No betting on Rutgers football, Seton Hall basketball or NCAA Tournament games at Prudential Center in Newark.

On Tuesday, voters will decide whether to change that through ballot question No. 1, which allows wagering on college teams and events in NJ. Here's the full question:

Do you approve amending the Constitution to permit wagering through casinos and current or former horse racetracks on all college sport or athletic events? Currently, wagering is prohibited on college sport or athletic events that take place in New Jersey. Wagering is also prohibited on an event in which a team from a New Jersey college participates.

It's no sure thing to pass, despite the appetite for sports betting in the state. A Stockton Poll showed 51% of voters are against it, compared to 37% for it. Another poll from Fairleigh Dickinson shows voters are about split.

“There hasn’t been much publicity around this ballot question, and a lot of people are going to miss it, or skip it,” Dan Cassino, the director of the poll, told NJ.com. “It’s much closer than it was before, and there are many voters who aren’t going to make a decision about it until they get into the ballot box.”

Polls are open Tuesday until 8 p.m .ET.

There's a second ballot question that asks if non-profits should be allowed to make money off games of chance, like bingo, to support their organizations.

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