On June 9, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed HB 626 the state’s “historic horse racing” legislation, which supporters expect will enrich the Granite State’s treasury by $6 million the first year and $12 million a year thereafter.
State charities, which will benefit from the new form of gaming, pressed lawmakers hard for it, especially in light of losses suffered during Covid-19.
“For years, legislators have worked to add historic horseracing to charitable gaming and have always come up short,” said Sununu. “I was happy to help bring this bill across the finish line with my signature, which will generate millions of dollars a year for N.H. nonprofits.”
New Hampshire joins five other states that have legalized historic horse racing. Players may wager up to $25 on machines that replay horse races of the past but omit the names, leaving only the statistics to inform the wager. Once the bet is played, the machine shows a video of the race.
The machines look similar to lottery machines. They will be operated by the New Hampshire Lottery, with nonprofits getting 8.75 percent of the amount bet. The state will get the rest, distributing it education and administrative costs. The Lottery expects to deploy about 1,000 machines by January 2022.
