No Committee Vote Taken On New Hampshire iGaming Bill

The New Hampshire Senate Ways and Means Committee did not take a vote on a bill that would legalize internet casino gaming Wednesday after hearing from its sponsor and testimony from two other parties.

State Sen. Tim Lang presented SB 168, which was filed last month and tethers online casino platforms to brick-and-mortar gaming facilities. That was the biggest change from the bill he introduced in 2023, which passed out of the upper chamber but not the House. The bill calls for at least three online operators and no more than six.

Real-money online casino gaming revenue would be taxed at 45% — similar to in-person casino wagering. One-quarter of those receipts would be allocated for an elderly, disabled, blind, and deaf exemption reimbursement fund; 25% to a special education fund; and the remaining 50% to the state’s general fund.

Lang makes his case for legalization

Lang estimated internet casino gaming would generate $39 million in annual tax revenue. He said a person “playing blackjack on their phone would be treated the same as if the person was sitting in the same facility.”

The senator admitted to inadvertently leaving charitable gaming out in creating the revenue structure of the bill, though he presented an amendment to address that oversight. Lang said the addition of tethering online skins to existing facilities was a direct response “after hearing the concerns of everybody.”

Lang’s estimate for annual iGaming tax revenue is more than the $34.9 million mobile sports betting provided the state in 2024. New Hampshire has had online sports betting since December 2019 after the state lottery partnered with DraftKings to be its exclusive operator and collects 51% of operator revenue.

Neighboring Massachusetts’ entrance into the sports betting marketplace in 2023, however, has made tax revenue growth in that vertical challenging. The $793.4 million handle reported in 2024 was down 3.4% compared to 2023 and 11% from from the all-time high of $891.7 million in 2022.

DraftKings had a 9.7% hold in 2023 to create a 20% rise in revenue and offset a 7.9% dip in wagering from 2022. Though DraftKings increased its hold to almost 10% last year, the $79.1 million in revenue was down 1.2% year-over-year. That led to a dip in tax revenue of $606,000.

Charities and RG proponents voice concerns

Alicia Preston, president of the New Hampshire Charitable Gaming Association, acknowledged Lang’s efforts to tether the online skins to the existing casinos but said, “The brick-and-mortars have invested an enormous amount of money, energy, and infrastructure to exist. While tethering them to the online gaming will give them some financial benefit, it also will take away that street traffic.”

Preston stressed the street traffic is “what these people have built these buildings for” and “for the physical people to be there.” She also had worries about the food and beverage industry, point out if “people are staying home to do [gambling] from their couch, they’re not going to the restaurants, the bars, the potential activities around concerts and things like that.”

Brianne Doura-Schawohl spoke on behalf of the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, arguing that expanding into online casino gaming would also increase the instances of gambling addiction in the state. She said there were an estimated 25,000 people who currently struggle with gambling addiction in New Hampshire and pointed out the increased social costs that come with adding the iGaming vertical.

Doura-Schawohl pointed out to the committee that New Hampshire ranks 39th of 43 states when it comes to addressing problem gambling. When asked to expand on her statement, Doura-Schawohl pointed out there is a commitment of only $100,000 annually to problem gambling; Massachusetts allocates $22 million per year toward that effort.

She added New Hampshire has shown no research studies in advance of potential legalization, making it unknown how much of an issue problem gambling is in New Hampshire and how much adding internet casino gaming could add to it.