New Hampshire Bill Will Raise Minimum Sports Betting Age

Granite State legislators are mulling over a piece of legislation that would raise the state’s minimum sports betting age from 18 to 21. 

Age Limit Increase 

Many states have a standard of 21 years old to make a sports bet, but when legislation was passed to bring sports betting to the New Hampshire electorate, the minimum age was 18, and no one thought much about it. After all, New Hampshire’s motto is “Live Free or Die,” and it is one of the few states that does not require a helmet when riding a motorcycle. 

Thus, nonconformance to traditional social mores is in keeping with New Hampshire’s reputation after being one of the first states to launch mobile sports betting in 2019. However, lawmakers are taking a second look at raising the minimum sports betting age after state representatives Sallie Fellows (D) and Michael Cahill (D) co-sponsored HB-83, which is scheduled to go before the House Ways and Means Committee on January 8th. 

State’s Cut vs. Bettor’s Age

Once Missouri becomes the 39th state to offer sports betting at some point this year, only seven of those markets have set the minimum age at 18, and it is causing a bit of a debate among New Hampshire legislators. However, with a smaller pool of bettors, there will be a decrease in revenues for not only the sportsbook provider but also the state’s cut, which is projected to bring a loss of $640,000. 

However, this bill has a long way to go before it can become law, but now that the topic of increasing the minimum age to place a sports bet has graduated from a roundtable discussion to an actual bill, it signals that a serious movement is afoot about implementing 21 as the new minimum to make a wager. 

DraftKings Affected 

Boston-based DraftKings is territorial when it comes to New England. It routinely defeats FanDuel and all the other competitors in their home state of Massachusetts and even made New Hampshire an offer it couldn’t refuse. DraftKings agreed to give New Hampshire a whopping 51% of its revenues in exchange for exclusivity in the market, working in cooperation with the New Hampshire Lottery. 

“This is a significant milestone and an exciting moment in the New Hampshire Lottery’s evolution, as sports betting represents a major addition to our portfolio of products,” said Charlie McIntyre, executive director of New Hampshire Lottery. “We are pleased to be working with DraftKings to introduce our players to a completely new way to win in New Hampshire and to continue maximizing revenue for education in the Granite State.” 

Although DraftKings has no other competition, it should be noted New Hampshire ranks 41st in population with just 1.37 million people. Therefore, losing 18-, 19-, and 20-year-old customers will not be good for business. Furthermore, that young demographic was considered when DraftKings made the deal with the state, an agreement that is up for renewal every two years. 

How intensely will DraftKings lobby against this bill, if at all? It is unknown at this time but Bookmaker’s Review will continue to monitor this story and update our readers as events unfold.