Bill sponsor Sen. Timothy Lang halted his latest attempt to legalize New Hampshire online casinos during a gathering of the state senate last week.
During a March 6 Senate session, Sen. Lang moved to table Senate Bill 168, which would legalize online casinos in the state. The Senate unanimously approved the motion with a voice vote despite the Senate Ways and Means Committee having previously recommended its passage.
While moving to table his bill, Lang did not explain his seeming change of heart. Bonus emailed Lang for more details but has not received a response.
2025 online casino opportunity diminishes
During its Feb. 12 meeting, the Lang-chaired Senate Ways and Means Committee recommended an amended version of SB 168 “ought to pass” after a 3-2 vote. Before the committee added the amendment, SB 168’s impact on charitable funding was under scrutiny.
At the time, Lang said the amendment fixed a drafting error in the bill’s text and would protect charitable funding.
Said Lang:
It was never my intention to carve out the charities from revenue… This bill fits the charities back in play.
Had it passed, Lang’s bill would have charged the New Hampshire Lottery with regulating the state’s online casino market. Under the proposed legislation, the lottery commission could have awarded between three to six licenses, taxed at 45%. The bill would have also allowed residents 18 and up to gamble at online casinos.
However, Lang’s tabling of SB 168 during the March 6 meeting makes online casinos’ chance of progressing further during the 2025 legislative session unlikely.
US online casino expansion faces opposition
With SB 168’s tabling, New Hampshire became the latest state to set aside online casino legalization in 2025.
This year, legislators in Virginia, Indiana, and Wyoming have already pushed online casino legalization forward to future years. Meanwhile, hearings in Maryland give the year’s efforts a Groundhog Day vibe, while New York lawmakers face longstanding opposition to online casinos.
The one state standing out from the crowd is Arkansas, where Sen. Bryan King has proposed a constitutional amendment “concerning casino gaming.”
For New Hampshire, some have suggested that newly elected Governor Kelly Ayotte’s past opposition to online gambling may have contributed to SB 168’s tabling. However, at this point, explanations are simply speculation.
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