SENATE, No. 2363

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Senator JOHN F. MCKEON

District 27 (Essex and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

     Requires employees of gambling and addiction related State entities to participate in problem gambler training program.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

An Act requiring certain State employees to participate in a problem gambler training program and supplementing Title 5 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

     1.    a.  The Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services, in consultation with the Division of Gaming Enforcement and the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, shall develop a training course for State employees who encounter problem gamblers during the course of carrying out the duties of their State employment.  The training shall be developed to ensure that State employees can respond to problem gamblers with empathy, provide accurate information on available resources, and guide patrons through the self-exclusion process in a supportive manner.  The training program may be updated and re-administered to State employees periodically upon updates to guidelines on how to best treat gambling addiction.

     b.    Employees of the following State entities who interact with the public shall be required to participate in the training:

     the New Jersey Racing Commission, established pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1940, c.17 (C.5:5-22);

     the Division of the State Lottery and the State Lottery Commission, established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1970, c.13 (C.5:9-4);

     the Casino Control Commission, established pursuant to section 50 of P.L.1977, c.110 (C.5:12-50);

     the Division of Gaming Enforcement, established pursuant to section 55 of P.L.1977, c.110 (C.5:12-55);

     the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services, established pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1989, c.51 (C.26:2BB-5); and

     any other State entity the Governor deems appropriate at the recommendation of the Attorney General.

     2.    This act shall take effect on the 180th day after the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

     This bill requires State employees who encounter problem gamblers throughout the course of their employment to participate in a training program to better handle interactions with problem gamblers.  The training will be developed by the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services, in consultation with the Division of Gaming Enforcement and the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey.  The training will be developed to ensure that State employees can respond to problem gamblers with empathy, provide accurate information on available resources, and guide patrons through the gambling self-exclusion process in a supportive manner.  The training program may be updated and re-administered to State employees upon recommended updates to guidelines on how to best treat gambling addiction. 

     Public-facing employees of the New Jersey Racing Commission, the Division of the State Lottery and State Lottery Commission, the Casino Control Commission, the Division of Gaming Enforcement, the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services, and any other State entity the Governor deems appropriate at the recommendation of the Attorney General will be required to participate in the training.