Could Online Casinos Be Coming to New Hampshire?

The Live Free or Die State has recently seen legislation filed that would bring online casino gambling to the digital marketplace.

Virtual Casinos

Senate Bill 168 was introduced earlier this month by a quartet of senators, including Timothy Lang, Daniel Innis, Howard Pearl, and Keith Murphy. Should the bill pass, it would allow online casino gambling and task the New Hampshire Lottery with creating a new regulatory body to govern and regulate New Hampshire’s iGaming industry.

Unlike the state’s mobile sports betting industry, which has an exclusive pact with Boston-based DraftKings in exchange for a hefty 51% cut of the profits, this iGaming bill would allow three to six licensed online gaming operators and tax their adjusted gross revenues at 45% and would be the first in the nation to allow 18-year-olds to bet, maintaining the minimum age for sports betting in the Granite State.

The revenues collected would be dispersed as follows: 50% to the state’s general fund, 25% to a special education fund, and 25% toward an established elderly, disabled, blind, and deaf exemption reimbursement fund.

Responsible Gaming Measures

Moreover, in keeping “consistent with the best practices in addressing problem gambling,” iGaming platforms would be required to enforce daily, weekly, and monthly wager limits.

The bill is currently under review in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Lang is hoping this legislation has a more positive outcome than his last attempt in 2023 when the Senate approved it, but the bill died in the House.

Only seven states, including New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, have launched iGaming compared to what will be 39 sports betting states once Missouri launches this year. There has been much more apprehension surrounding iGaming than sports betting, which is why the growth of online casino gambling has expanded at a far less rapid pace.

Legal Gambling Age Limit Preserved

Despite concerted efforts to raise the minimum gambling age from 18 to 21, House Bill 83 was voted down, 11-7, in the House Ways and Means Committee. New Hampshire is in the extreme minority concerning the 18-year-old minimum gambling age, joined only by Kentucky, Wyoming, and Washington D.C.

A supporter of the bill, Representative Thomas Schamberg, said, “I think it is important that we make a statement about the age limit like we have about alcohol, tobacco products, and vapes. Basically, I am supporting the age of 21 in New Hampshire.”

But New Hampshire is known as an independent-minded state whose moniker, Live Free or Die, is manifested by quirky legal nuances like the absence of a helmet law for motorcycle riders and no state income tax, to name but a few. Therefore, having the lowest legal gambling age in the nation is nothing new to a state that prides itself on as little government interference as possible.

To that end, Representative Cyril Aures demanded the state maintain the status quo of 18 by saying, “I’d just like to say that I see it as a liberty issue for young people,” he said. “If they want to bet with their money, let them bet.”