New Hampshire Approves Sports Betting; ETA July, 2020

• New Hampshire governor signs a sports betting bill into law
• Application process begins now and will last until January
• First venues to accept wagers should arrive in July, 2020

New Hampshire becomes the newest state to accept sports betting wagers online and at land-based venues starting in July 1, 2020.

New Hampshire Gives Green Light to Sports Betting in 2020

New Hampshire is the latest state to fully legalize sports betting at the same time that Indiana has issued 12 new betting permits to allow agencies to join the market. The news from NH comes following the signature of Governor Chris Sununu signed B 480 into law.

After half-year of debates the bill finally landed at the governor’s desk, following a number of revisions along the way. The approving process started on a good note, with both the state’s House and Senate landing their support, but it was later bogged down in multiple re-writes that concerned mobile and live sports betting.

The state is now going to use the Lottery Commission to accept proposals from betting agencies interested in running online and retail betting activities. Given the current timeline, all partners’ names should be known by January 1, 2020 and the industry is expected to launch officially on July 1.

Revenue Sharing Program to Be Introduced

New Hampshire will collect taxes from all betting operators which will strike revenue sharing deals to guarantee the state’s cut from the total handle. Presently, the taxation is expected to be 5%, which is some of the lowest across the nation.

Yet, lawmakers expect as much as $11.3 million going in the way of the state by 2021, and then climbing to $11.8 million in the financial 2023. Sununu also commented on the latest developments and NH’s betting industry:

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.

The governor confirmed that he expects the introduction of legal sports betting to help add to public resources and bolster up the education system, benefiting every child across the entire state. Sununu described the decision as “a win for New Hampshire.”

Legal Betting in New Hampshire: The Breakdown

New Hampshire will allow a total of five sportsbooks online and ten retail sportsbooks. Addressing responsible gambling, the NH Lottery Commission will be able to decide what the weekly spending limits of players – on general and per case basis – can be. This doesn’t exempt sportsbooks from upholding responsible gambling mechanisms themselves.

Players that are of the legal betting age of 18 may register remotely and participate in all sorts of betting contests, including live and online. A new regulatory body by the name of the Division of Sports Wagering is also arriving to the state and it will operate under the Lottery Commission.

To address responsibility concerns, the state will also set up the Council for Responsible Gambling which will consist of five experts who specialize in addiction and mental health services who will actively seek to educate people on the dangers of sports betting as well as how to avoid addictive practices.