New Hampshire may soon join the ranks of states that have legalized online casinos. After facing defeat earlier this year, charitable casino operators in the Granite State have expressed a change of heart and are now willing to support the introduction of online casino legislation.
Senator Tim Lang, who introduced the bill, shared this exciting news at the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) conference in Denver last week.
“I have been contacted by operators and they’re now saying we want you to file a bill in ’24 and we’ll work with you on getting it passed,” Lang said at the conference.
Senator Lang introduced SB 104 in 2022, the first online casino legislation in New Hampshire. His hope was that it would face the same amount of support received when online sports betting was passed in 2019. That wasn’t the case, however. The online casino bill required a revote to narrowly pass through the Senate. A house committee killed the bill with one representative saying it would impact the state’s charities.
The brick-and-mortar casino gaming sector in New Hampshire operates through 15 casinos, which are mandated to donate a significant portion of their revenue to charities and the New Hampshire Lottery.
The opposition to the online casino bill primarily stemmed from concerns about cannibalization within the gambling market. Charitable gaming operators, represented by Rick Newman of the New Hampshire Charitable Gaming Operators Association, testified against the bill at a House hearing. They feared the potential loss of market share and believed that online casino gambling would negatively impact charities. Despite efforts by Senator Lang to address these concerns, the bill was ultimately defeated in the House.
“The operators had a kneejerk reaction on cannibalization,” Lang said at the conference. “So I was hit hard and heavy on the cannibalization argument. The operators were petrified that they were going to lose market share. And whatever data we showed them, they were highly opposed to it and hammered our House members.”
Now, however, it looks like the casinos are willing to work with Lang. Newman told PlayUSA that the two had discussions about an iGaming bill in 2024.
“We’ve had very, very preliminary conversations with Sen. Lang and other legislators as well,” Newman said. “We don’t have a specific model. The session just ended and we’re taking a breath here. But I think those discussions will take place over the next several months, absolutely.”
Specifics, Newman said, have not been discussed, it is believed the group would want direct participation in iGaming.
“If online gaming is going to come to New Hampshire, the charitable gaming operators want to have it under the umbrella of the current gaming in New Hampshire. Doing it that way may have the support of legislators who do not support the idea of having a DraftKings-type company come in and bring online gaming.”
One potential roadblock in the process of introducing a new online casino bill in New Hampshire is a unique procedural requirement. All bills introduced in 2024 must substantially differ from those introduced in the previous year. The determination of what constitutes substantial differences rests with the House Speaker. This requirement adds an additional layer of complexity to the legislative process and may impact the content of the new bill.
Newman told PlayUSA he wasn’t sure if those changes would qualify as making it a substantially different bill.
“That’s a hurdle anybody wanting to go forward would have to figure out,” Newman said. “I don’t think it’s an absolute hurdle but certainly it’s not going to be an easy lift. And it may be that we have to wait until 2025.”
