The Final Four of the NCAA basketball tournament is this weekend, with nearly $3 billion expected to be wagered on. Many of those wagers will be placed in New Jersey and there is now a push in the state to tax more of that money.

The promise of tax revenue is one of the ways New Jersey lawmakers pitched making sports betting legal in the Garden State in 2018.

The current tax rate in New Jersey is 15% for online wagering and 13% for online sports betting. State Sen. John McKeon is proposing raising that rate to 30%.

The proposal comes as online betting numbers soar in New Jersey, with record-breaking numbers in 2023. Overall revenue was up 15% and sports betting revenue was up 30% - totaling $1 billion.

McKeon says $150 million of that would go a long way – especially with hikes on NJ transit and a state budget that needs new revenue.

New Jersey has some of the lowest tax rate on internet gambling. New York and Pennsylvania would still have higher tax rates even if New Jersey doubles its rate.

McKeon says the tax rate won’t impact bets placed in person.