New Hampshire Enacts Sports Betting Law That Covers Both Retail and Mobile Wagering

The latest US state to make sports betting legal is New Hampshire! Governor, Chris Sununu, has signed the proposed House Bill 480 into law.

The legislation, introduced in January, secured the House and Senate approval first and was the subject of numerous amendments in June. The lawmakers that proposed it wanted to make sure that it reached the Governor’s desk in mint condition.

The Mission: Finding Vendors

The step that follows after Governor Sununu made the law official…

…is that New Hampshire Lottery Commission needs to launch a proposal request for finding operators that will help conduct retail and online sports betting. In an ideal scenario, the partners could be found by January 1st 2020. The market is scheduled for a July 1st opening.

Operating partners that are selected will then enter the agreement concerning the sharing of revenue. This is put in place…

…in order to ensure that the state sees a return from legal wagering. Some estimates, based on the average industry tax hold rate of 5%, say that New Hampshire could gain $11.3 million from total handle of $225m during the 2021 financial year, which would rise to $11.8m and $12.5m by 2023.

Driving Critical Revenue

Governor Sununu divulged why he was keen to sign the sports betting legislation into law:

“Sports betting is the right bet for New Hampshire. With the exciting new addition of sports betting, the New Hampshire Lottery will continue to drive critical revenue, putting even more money into our educational system.

Today’s action will provide financial and important resources to help our public education system, which will benefit every child in every school across the state — a win for New Hampshire.”

Limitations Exist

Five mobile betting operators will be allowed in New Hampshire…

…as well as a maximum of 10 retail sportsbooks permitted to operate at any time.

The Lottery Commission will have the permission to set daily, weekly and monthly spending limits for players and will be in charge of players’ self-exclusion system. For players who are at least 18 years old, remote registration will be permitted. Online wagering will have in-play betting enabled.

A new regulatory unit will be instated, according to of the bill: Division of Sports Wagering, operating under Lottery Commission, will be handling the entire sector, overseeing regulations and how they’re enforced. This body will be directly involved with selecting sports betting vendors.

Problem Gambling Will be Dealt With

With sports betting market coming up…

…the state will also form the Council for Responsible Gambling. This unit will consist of five experts in addiction and mental health and will help promote education on gambling issues, prevention and treatment of these problems.

In total, 17 US states have either legalized sports betting or have ed laws to legalize it.

Source:

“New Hampshire legalizes sports betting”, igbnorthamerica.com, July 15, 2019.