New Hampshire is one of the last chances for a newly legalized iGaming market in the United States as a bill goes to the Senate floor this week. Senate Bill 104, sponsored by Sen. Timothy Lang, aims to regulate New Hampshire online gambling completely and establish an education scholarship fund mainly from the gaming revenue.
The bill, with support from both Republican and Democrat representatives will be debated on the Senate floor on Thursday, and should it pass with a majority it will head to Gov. Sununu who will be required to provide final sign-off before it comes into law.
What does the bill stipulate?
The bill is different from many across the United States, with the following being key highlights taken from the bill:
- An authorized online gaming bettor is defined in New Hampshire legislation as an individual of 18 years of age or older; who is physically present in the state of New Hampshire, or otherwise permitted to place a wager by law, when placing an online gaming wager with the commission or an authorized agent of the commission and is not a prohibited online gaming bettor
- Online gaming is explicitly defined as ‘games of chance’ defined under the legislation section RSA 287-D:1, III – including, but not limited to poker, blackjack, cards, roulette, craps, baccarat or other style games. It does not include sports wagering (conducted under RSA 287-I), paid fantasy games (RSA 287-H), games of chance under RSA 287-D, Internet lottery (RSA 284:21-h) or historic horse racing (RSA 284:22-b)
- Full regulatory parameters are yet to be fully decided in the bill. The prospective tax rate is estimated to be approximately 35 percent of adjusted gross revenue, with explicit responsible gaming measures to be defined by the New Hampshire Lottery – the body responsible for regulating the industry
- The launch date would be 1st January 2024. Although there is no definitive amount of operators, the bill states ‘there will be three to five authorized iGaming agents’
What are the projections for New Hampshire online gaming?
The bill provides the following fiscal predictions for New Hampshire iGaming in the first three years.
| FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 | |
| Gross Gaming Revenue | $6,750,000 | $27,000,000 | $40,500,000 |
| Tax Revenue to the State (35%) | $2,362,500 | $9,450,000 | $14,175,000 |
| Less: Lottery Commission Administrative Costs | ($160,000) | ($633,000) | ($621,000) |
| Net Revenue to Scholarship Fund | $2,202,500 | $8,817,000 | $13,554,000 |
The figures above are based on analysis using the existing iGaming markets in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan. It assumes that after nine months of completing a contracting process, it will take a total of 36 months for the iGaming market to reach maturity and be similar to the other states on a per capita basis.
| Jurisdiction | FY 2023 GGR (estimated) | Comparison to NH Market | Implied NH GGR | Implied NH Revenue Share at 35% |
| New Jersey | $1.66 billion | 12x larger | $138 million | $48.3 million |
| Pennsylvania | $1.3 billion | 9x larger | $144 million | $50.4 million |
| Michigan | $1.43 billion | 7x larger | $204 million | $71 million |
| Connecticut | $226 million | 2x larger | $113 million | $39.5 million |
The calculations included in the bill are based on the above market size assumptions, explained in greater detail in the footnotes of the brief.
The governor of New Hampshire has not made his stance on online casino and iGaming public, but given he has previously overseen the legalization and roll-out of sports betting in New Hampshire, backers of the bill are optimistic that he wouldn’t be opposed to a broadening of state gambling activities and potential further economic benefit to New Hampshire.