New Jersey sportsbooks keep turning bettors away from NCAA wagers on St. Peter’s University

I once worked at a sandwich shop, and if ever we ran out of rolls, we would put a sign on the door in large letters that said, “Sorry, we are closed. All out of bread.” Without fail, people looked at the sign and asked if we were open. When we locked the door, they knocked to ask why we closed early.

What does my sandwich-making past have to do with sports betting? A New Jersey law forbids wagering on in-state colleges and Borgata Race and Sports Book Director Thomas Gable can’t put a handwritten sign on sandwich wrap on the sportsbook window.

» READ MORE: How to bet on Thursday’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 games

The questions are a normal occurrence during college football and basketball seasons. But it was especially crazy last week during the NCAA Tournament when more people from out of state who aren’t familiar with the rule visited the Atlantic City sportsbook.

During the first two rounds of the tournament at the packed BetMGM Sportsbook at the Borgata, Gable and his team got a lot of questions thanks to St. Peter’s, a Cinderella team from Jersey City.

“We are always educating customers about the New Jersey sports betting regulations and not being allowed to accept action on NJ schools,” said Gable, who noted that customers are understanding of the matter. “But certainly there is disappointment. It’s not a good thing …”

» READ MORE: In college hoops' smallest gym, tiny Saint Peters prepares for the East Regional madness

Gable pointed out that the interest is definitely there from bettors who regularly ask about placing Seton Hall and Rutgers wagers. Of course, Gable hopes that New Jersey rethinks the collegiate ban before March 2025. That’s when the NCAA Tournament East Regional will be held at Prudential Center in Newark. If the law is not changed, New Jersey sportsbooks will not be able to take any action on any of the games played there, regardless of where the schools are from.

Despite the restrictive rule, there were several six-figure bets. One customer laid $110k on Ohio State +5 against Villanova in the second round. Villanova won 61-51.

At the Borgata, Providence and Houston are getting the early money.

“Analytically, Providence doesn’t grade out well and bettors have been fading them all season, but they have proven resilient through the season and the first two rounds,” said Gable. “I personally power-rate Houston as a one-point favorite over Arizona on a neutral court, so I’m not surprised that the number is moving toward Houston. Jumping on them at +2.5 was a smart play.”

The Wells Fargo Center is hosting the East Regional starting on Friday. Across the Sports Complex at Live! Casino Philadelphia, seating at the FanDuel Sportsbook is limited. At the adjacent Sports & Social, there is a cover charge but it is offset with a food and beverage spend.

FanDuel Sportsbook manager Bryan Newman expects North Carolina vs. UCLA to get the most action due to the high-profile status of the programs. It’s no surprise that Villanova (-5 vs. Michigan) is seeing the majority of the early money.

Newman likes Purdue as a Sweet 16 sleeper team.

“Purdue should be able to win against St. Peter’s handily and should be able to beat either UCLA or North Carolina in the Elite Eight. They would be a good value bet at the moment.”

The biggest liabilities at FanDuel at Live! Philadelphia are UCLA and Michigan. One bettor could cash a ticket for $250k if UCLA wins the national championship. Another customer could win $200k if Michigan cuts down the nets. Someone also placed a futures bet on longshot St. Peter’s that would pay $500k.

Pennsylvania sportsbooks reported their first-ever month of collective net revenue loss in February. Sportbooks gave out a record amount of promo credits ($22.6 million) to attract customers to wager on the Super Bowl, which resulted in a combined loss of $442,847.

Katie Kohler is the Managing Editor at Play Pennsylvania where she writes about sports betting and casinos.

Event description: While Villanova heads to San Antonio for the tournament’s South Regional, the East Regional is coming to Philly and The Inquirer will be in both locations every step of the way. Join college hoops experts Mike Jensen and Mike Sielski as they offer an insider’s look at Villanova’s tournament run and break down the rest of the field during a special edition of Gameday Central. Tune in Friday, March 25 at 2:15 PM as Jensen and Sielski chat with Inquirer columnist David Murphy on Inquirer LIVE.

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