New Jersey Sweepstakes Laws: The $20 Carve-Out Nobody Reads
New Jersey sweepstakes laws banned the model outright and, in the same statute, wrote down exactly what a lawful free-play product looks like.
| Statute | A5447 (with S4282), 221st Legislature |
|---|---|
| Signed | 15 August 2025, Gov. Phil Murphy |
| Effective | Immediately on signature — no wind-down |
| Penalties | Up to $100,000 first offence; up to $250,000 for subsequent offences |
| Enforcement | Division of Gaming Enforcement; Division of Consumer Affairs |
| Carve-out | No cost to the player; prizes limited to food, drink, or low-value merchandise not exceeding $20 |
| Status | In force |
The definition
A5447 defines a sweepstakes as a promotional event or game in which something of value is awarded, directly or indirectly, through means such as a dual-currency system of payment that allows a participant to exchange the currency for a prize or prize equivalent. Prohibited games are enumerated: slots, video poker, roulette, blackjack, craps, poker, draw games, raffle, bingo, keno, sports wagering. The list is not subtle.
The part the trade press skipped
Assemblyman Calabrese left a door open, and almost nobody walked through it. A sweepstakes survives in New Jersey where there is no cost to the player and prizes are confined to food, drink, or low-value merchandise capped at $20 — mugs, trinkets, mementos, in the statute’s own vocabulary.
That carve-out is a specification. It describes a product with zero consideration and de-minimis prizes, and it is drawn tightly enough that most operators dismissed it as commercially useless rather than reading it as a design brief.
Aftermath
VGW phased out its New Jersey sweepstakes platform from 29 July 2025, before the signature. Funzpoints and Spree shut down entirely. VGW kept its Gold-Coin games running for New Jersey players — which is the whole point, and which most commentary managed to report without noticing what it proved.
Sources
- Verified New Jersey A5447, 221st Legislature (2025) — bill text and statement.
- Verified iGaming Business, “Murphy signs NJ sweepstakes casino ban into law” (August 2025).
- Verified PlayNJ, reporting on A5447 penalties, enforcement bodies, and the $20 prize carve-out (2025).