New Jersey's Senate Judiciary Committee reported Senate Bill 597 favorably on 15 October 2026, by 11 votes to none. The bill would keep the casino gambling age at 21. It would stop treating a bet by someone under that age, at a licensed casino or simulcasting facility, as a disorderly persons offense. The same shift would apply to a casino licensee or employee who lets that person remain or wager, and to a person who knowingly lets someone in their legal care place or try to place a bet. The age itself does not move. The bill is not law. After the vote it was referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations.
The committee statement is dated 15 October. Sponsors are Senator James Beach (District 6) and Senator Vincent J. Polistina (District 2, Atlantic). Co-sponsors are Senators Kristin M. Corrado, Shirley K. Turner and John F. McKeon. The roll call listed every member present as yes, including Chair Brian P. Stack and Vice Chair Troy Singleton.
What the Casino Control Act says now
Section 119 of the Casino Control Act, N.J.S.A. 5:12-119, already bans a person under the alcohol-purchase age from entering or wagering in a licensed casino or simulcasting facility. Walking through to another room is allowed. A person licensed or registered under the Act may enter in the course of permitted work. A violation of that subsection is a disorderly persons offense, and the fine is not less than $500 and not more than $1,000. A licensee or employee who allows an underage person to remain or wager is also charged as a disorderly person, with a written-ID defense that S597 would keep. A caregiver who knowingly allows the bet is a disorderly person as well.
The committee statement repeats that a disorderly persons offense is criminal in nature. S597 would replace those charges with a civil penalty: up to $500 for a first offense, up to $1,000 for a second, and up to $2,000 for a third and any later offense. The same scale would apply to the underage bettor, the caregiver, and the licensee or employee. Collection would be by the commissioner in a summary proceeding under the Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999. The Act would still take effect immediately if the governor signs it.
The bill does not rewrite internet wagering rules. It amends only this casino and simulcast section. It also does not invent a separate under-18 track. Anyone under 21 is already inside the same ban, including a person under 18. Family-court procedure is outside this text. Until a bill is enacted, the disorderly persons charge remains.
Where the fines would go
Penalties would be paid into the General Fund. They would not move on their own to a treatment program. The Legislature would still have to appropriate the money to the Department of Human Services for prevention, education and treatment programs for compulsive gambling that meet the criteria in N.J.S.A. 26:2-169. The bill names programs such as those of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey as an example of what can qualify. That is not a grant to the Council on the day of enactment.
Polistina's Senate Republican office published a statement the day of the vote. He said betting is more visible in sports broadcasts, commercials, social media and online ads, that underage gambling should not be encouraged, that casinos have to follow the law, and that a criminal offense is, in his words, an unnecessarily harsh consequence for a kid who makes a mistake. He said the bill keeps penalties, raises them for repeats, and points the money at prevention, education and treatment. That is his office's description. It is not a finding by the committee.
What still has to happen
S597 was pre-filed for the 2026 session, introduced on 13 January, and sent first to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation. It moved to Judiciary on 28 September. Office of Legislative Services has certified it for a fiscal note; the legislature's bill page does not publish a dollar figure with that flag. An identical Assembly bill, A1822, was introduced the same January day and remains in Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts. It has not had a committee report.
The same idea sat in the last session as S3972 and A5086. S3972 was introduced on 16 December 2024 and referred to the same Senate State Government committee. It never received a committee report before that session ended. This year's 11-0 vote is further than that. It is still only a committee report. Budget and Appropriations, the full Senate, the Assembly, and the governor all still sit in front of it.
None of this changes how you should read a casino. The legal age in New Jersey casinos stays 21 whether S597 passes or dies. If you are comparing rooms, start from the casino list and the rules in how to choose an online casino in 2026. A bonus, a licence, and a payout clock are still the parts that decide whether a site is usable. Under-21 play is still banned in Atlantic City and at simulcast windows while this file is in Trenton.
Sources: NJ Legislature S597; Senate Judiciary statement, 15 October 2026; S597 as reported; Polistina statement; A1822; S3972 (2024-25).
Published: 19. October 2026
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