Granite State bettors are apparently crazy about March Madness as evidenced by the $103.4 million in bets placed in March, setting a record for New Hampshire sports betting.
Handle Up Revenue Down
New Hampshire saw over $103 million in wagers placed in March which broke the previous record of $99.5 million set in January of 2022. Moreover, it was a 24% year-over-year increase from the $78.8 million in bets placed last March.
And lastly, it was $16 million more than February which is traditionally slow, despite the Super Bowl being the biggest betting day of the year in North America. As we have seen throughout the nation, mobile betting towers over retail or in-person wagering to the tune of well over 90%. In New Hampshire’s case last month, $93.4 million was digital while $9.98 went through the betting windows.
Although bettors wagered at a record pace in New Hampshire last month, the sportsbooks did not fare as well with $4.8 million in revenue compared to the $7.1 million won in February. In a curious statistical quirk, only $2.8 million of the $4.8 million in revenue was generated by online bets despite it comprising over 90% of the handle with $2.05 million derived from in-person betting.
iGaming Coming to New Hampshire?
Rep. Tim Lang’s SB 104, a bill that would bring online casino gambling to New Hampshire, initially failed to pass by an 11-12 vote. However, Senate President Jeb Bradley immediately took a recess and pressed the flesh, fishing for a colleague to flip their vote.
When the lawmakers returned, another vote was taken and Sen. Kevin Avard changed his vote from no to yes which means the bill will advance to the House for consideration. The biggest concern many legislators have is that online casino gaming will take a big bite out of the land-based casinos’ revenues which in turn fund many of the charitable organizations throughout the state.
Sen. Daryl Abbas expressed his concern on the floor of the Senate when he stated, “I just keep falling back to my biggest concern, which are the charities that these gaming houses have been so generous towards. But these charities, what they’ve done is come to rely on them. In my district, these are organizations that support children, veterans, they deal with homelessness, animal shelters, schools.
“I’m just not comfortable diluting that market to any extent. There’s too much unknown for me.”
Sen. Cindy Rosenwald expressed concern about gaming funding education when she said, “Beyond the instability that SB 104 would cause for the nonprofit sector, it’s clear to me that we should not make the ability for a person to go to college dependent on another person’s entertainment.”
Important SB 104 Details
- Appoints the New Hampshire Lottery Commission to oversee online casino gaming.
- The NHLC would choose the operator(s) through a competitive bidding process.
- Allowable online games include online poker, blackjack, roulette, craps, and baccarat.
- Sets the minimum betting age at 18 years old.
- Directs New Hampshire online casino revenue to a community college scholarship fund.
*Bookmakers Review will continue to monitor this story and update our readers as events unfold.
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