The New Hampshire House last week continued its longstanding anti-gaming ways by declining to move forward with a bill that would have authorized a single casino with as many as 5,000 slots and 150 gaming tables.
The vote was 173–144 to kill the bill that had resulted from the work of the New Hampshire Gaming Regulatory Oversight Authority, which had written regulations to be included if a casino was approved.
The last several years the Senate and House have dueled over casino proposals, with the Senate passing them and the House killing them. This time the Senate deferred to the House, and thus saved itself considerable effort. Different political parties control the chambers.
Governor Maggie Hassan supports a casino in the Granite State, arguing that it will hang onto revenue that will drain from the state to Massachusetts when its casinos open.
Hassan argues New Hampshire should legalize a casino to capture gambling profits that otherwise will be spent in Massachusetts casinos. Supporters have argued that the state stood to make over $100 million annually. Opponents say that it’s not so much gaming as slot machines that they oppose.
House member Patricia Lovejoy made that clear before her vote, “What is it us anti-casino types have against casinos? It is the slot machines.”
The governor said that she’s not going to give up on the need for a casino. “Despite today’s vote, I continue to believe that developing our own plan for one high-end casino is the best course of action for investing in the priorities that are critical to long-term economic growth. Soon, we all will see the impact of Massachusetts casinos right across our border in the form of lost revenue and potential social costs,” she said in a statement.
