US online casino industry leaders may be crossing their fingers while watching Senators vote on March 30 on a New Hampshire online casino bill. SB104‘s sponsor, state Sen. Timothy P. Lang Sr., believes his colleagues will approve the measure, which is the last realistic hope for a state to legalize online casino gambling during 2023.
Yesterday, Lang told Bonus:
It will be voted on [on] 3/30 and should pass.
If the Senate approves SB104, it will move on to the House. That New Hampshire General Court chamber is expected to adjourn on June 30. If the House passes SB104, the New Hampshire online casino bill will require Gov. Chris Sununu‘s signature to become law. The marketplace would then launch on April 1, 2024.
Meanwhile, the New Hampshire measure outlasted iGaming bills in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, and New York.
Iowa’s proposal is still alive. HSB227 is scheduled for a subcommittee meeting on Tuesday. However, that bill’s author has already said he doesn’t expect the bill to pass. State Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, characterized it as part of “a multiyear effort” to legalize online casino gambling.
UPDATE: 03/21/2023
On Twitter today, Lang let Bonus know:
Today, [the] Senate Finance Cmte endorsed the iGaming bill with a 5-2 recommendation vote to the whole Senate, that the bill [ought] to pass with an amendment (minor changes to the Community College scholarship side of the bill).
Whole Senate to vote on 3/30.
Details of the New Hampshire Online Casino Bill
Lang introduced SB104 on Jan. 5.
If it becomes law, the proposed legislation the Republican from Sanbornton authored will offer table games but not slots. Therefore, updated revenue estimates cut revenue projections by 55%.
The revised New Hampshire Lottery Commission estimates reflect $6.75 million in revenue during 2024. That’s if the New Hampshire online casino marketplace launches on April 1, 2024.
The marketplace overseen by the commission would then generate $9.45 million in revenue in 2025 and $14.175 million in 2026.
Lang’s bill proposes a 35% tax rate, with tax revenue being routed to a Community College Scholarship Fund.
Optimistically, the bill outlines a process for the New Hampshire Executive Council to supervise the request for proposals (RFP) process for three to five online casino skins.
At the moment, only DraftKings Sportsbook is live in New Hampshire. Bonus believes DraftKings Casino may be the only taker for an online casino without slots simply because it’s already taking sports bets.
At a Jan. 25 hearing about the bill, Rebecca London – a government affairs manager at DraftKings – did testify in favor of legal iGaming.
The New Hampshire online casino bill calls for gamblers to be at least 18, like the online sports betting law that allowed the current monopoly marketplace to launch in 2019.
The Iowa bill requires gamblers to be 21 or older.
However, Kentucky’s online sports betting bill similarly allows 18-year-old gamblers to wager.
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